Quotes
Stage 12 | Lightweight vehicle
Yanbu > Jeddah
401| FRANCISCO LOPEZ CONTARDO
Francisco “Chaleco” López: “I am very happy with the win, it's perfect”
Francisco “Chaleco” López, the winner of his category in 2019 on the last Dakar organised in South America, added a second triumph to his roll of honour after having to make do with the third step on the podium last year. Despite a complicated time on stage six when he dropped from first to fifth place in the general standings, the Chilean regained the leadership in Neom and kept it until the very end of the rally.
“It was a very, very difficult stage. This year was very difficult for preparation due to the big problems with COVID all...
Stage 12 | Truck
Yanbu > Jeddah
507| DMITRY SOTNIKOV
Dmitry Sotnikov: “We’re glad to continue our tradition of victory”
The 18th triumph for Kamaz in the truck race was offered to them by Dmitry Sotnikov, who added his name to the Dakar roll of honour for the first time, having led the rally without interruption from the finish of the first stage.
“It was the best race in my career. It was my dream and a lot of work, many years of work since my first Dakar in 2014 and finally we have won it. Last year we had a failure due to a big stone, but this year everything was good. The first half was really fast for us and we got a good gap with our time. On the second part, it was just...
Stage 12 | Quad
Yanbu > Jeddah
154| MANUEL ANDUJAR
Manuel Andújar: “It's really emotional”
Although he was participating in only his fourth Dakar, Manuel Andújar triumphed in Jeddah ahead of Giovanni Enrico and Pablo Copetti. Alongside bike category winner Kevin Benavides, the two Argentinean riders have well and truly left their mark on the 2021 edition of the rally.
“It’s my fourth Dakar and my first win. I’m really happy to be here. It's really emotional too. I appreciate all the people that have helped me get to where I am today. The whole Dakar is difficult. My hands and everything, my whole body is really tired. But I’ve...
Stage 12 | Car
Yanbu > Jeddah
300| CARLOS SAINZ
Carlos Sainz: “I cannot be one hundred per cent happy”
The title holder finished the rally this year on the third step of the podium on which the two X-Raid team buggies took their place, providing some sort of consolation for the Spaniard.
“A podium finish is always important, but I cannot be one hundred per cent happy, because we had the opportunity to fight for the victory, but we did not do such a good job with the navigation and the road-book. We didn’t understand it and we paid for it. On the other hand, I'm happy for the team and happy for Stéphane. He did a really fantastic job. That is why he...
Stage 12 | Car
Yanbu > Jeddah
301| NASSER AL-ATTIYAH
Nasser Al Attiyah: “I am sure we will come back stronger next year ”
This year, the three time winner of the Dakar has finished in second place in the general standings for the fifth time in his career, a bitter pill to swallow for the Qatari!
“I would like to thank the team. We did an amazing job with no mistakes from me, my co-pilot or the team. We worked very, very hard. What can we do? This is the second year that we are fighting against the buggies. For me we only need to change the rules for it to be fair for everybody, that’s it. Of course, I am disappointed, but thankfully we’ve finished the race. I am really...
Stage 12 | Car
Yanbu > Jeddah
302| STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL
Stéphane Peterhansel: “There are no easy victories on the Dakar”
On completion of a race he drove masterfully, Stéphane Peterhansel, taking part for the first year with Edouard Boulanger as his co-pilot, added a fourteenth victory to his roll of honour, tasting success thirty years after his first victory on a bike in 1991.
“It’s still the same emotion for the 14th victory. Like I said, to win the Dakar is always really complicated. There are no easy victories on the Dakar. This one from the outside maybe looked easy, but it was not easy every day to manage the small gap over Nasser. There was a lot of pressure...
Stage 12 | Bike
Yanbu > Jeddah
47| KEVIN BENAVIDES
Kevin Benavides: “I've won the Dakar - I'm so, so happy!”
On his 5th participation, the Argentinean Honda rider has become the first South American to win the category on completion of a very eventful race.
“It was absolutely crazy. I started third and after fifty kilometres I was in front opening the stage. I feel that everything was complicated, because Ricky started to catch up with me. I started to push a lot, all day, and stayed focused, so I did a good job today. Also, I went at one hundred and ten percent, but now it's true: I've won the Dakar - I'm so, so happy! I did some mistakes, for sure. I think it’s...
Stage 12 | Bike
Yanbu > Jeddah
5| SAM SUNDERLAND
Sam Sunderland: “A podium on the Dakar is never a bad thing”
For his eighth participation on the Dakar, the KTM rider who became the first British biker to win the rally in 2017 has finished the rally on the podium in 3rd position and is satisfied with his performance.
“I did my best job. I can’t be too disappointed. I tried so hard this morning and started off well, but I couldn’t find one WP in the dunes and I was searching there for ten minutes. It’s like that: when you push the speed the navigation comes down because there is a fine balance. I knew today that I had a big task ahead of me to open and...
Stage 12 | Bike
Yanbu > Jeddah
1| RICKY BRABEC
Ricky Brabec: “Today I gave it 110 per cent and it just wasn’t enough”
Despite his best efforts, Ricky Brabec was unable to regain time and overtake Kevin Benavides in the general standings. However, the American pipped Sam Sunderland at the post to offer Honda their first one-two finish since 1987.
“I tried my best. Unfortunately, my team-mates ride really well. It’s pretty cool to finish with a one-two, but obviously the top step is a lot better than the second step. We did our best. We struggled the first week, but during the second week we came back pretty strong. Today I gave it 110 per cent and it just wasn’t enough....
Stage 11 | Lightweight vehicle
AlUla > Yanbu
383| SETH QUINTERO
Seth Quintero: "I really couldn’t have asked for a better day"
The young 18-year old Californian continues to impress and today picked up his second stage success in the lightweight vehicle category.
“Today went absolutely amazingly. I’m not too sure where we started, but we were really just trying to pick cars off all day and run smooth and that’s exactly what we did. We ended up somehow the first physical LTV and first LTV on time. It blows my mind how well this Red Bull Off-Road Team works. The last two days were really rough. We didn’t get back from stage nine until yesterday at four in the morning...
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