Al-Attiyah wins Dakar Rally, Sunderland takes motorbike race

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Nasser Al-Attiyah clinched his fourth Dakar Rally title on Friday in Jeddah after leading from the first stage on New Year's Day.

Al-Attiyah could afford to let nearest rival Sebastien Loeb, the former nine-time rally world champion, beat him by more than five minutes on the 12th and last sandy stage from Bisha and still cruise to overall victory by more than 27 minutes. The Qatari previously won in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

British rider Sam Sunderland won his second Dakar motorbike title after beating stage winner Pablo Quintanilla of Chile by 3 1/2 minutes, the closest margin since 1994.

But the rally's end was overshadowed by the road crash death of a support staff member from the PH Sport team on a liaison route.

Quentin Lavalée, aged 20 of France, was killed when the car he was driving collided with a local truck, police told Dakar Rally organizers. A passenger with Lavalée, Maxime Frere of Belgium, was injured and taken to a Jeddah hospital. Lavalee was a chief mechanic.

Al-Attiyah was runner-up in the last two Dakars in Saudi Arabia, and focused on rallying in the past year without sharing time with sport shooting or powerboating. Plagued by punctures on the Dakar, he fine-tuned a Toyota with bigger tires and suspension and came to Saudi having won seven rallies.

His biggest rivals struck trouble early. Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel lost a rear wheel and three-time champ Carlos Sainz made a bad navigation error. Loeb's drive shaft broke and by the rest day a week ago, Al-Attiyah had a 50-minute lead.

Loeb desperately chipped at the gap in search of his first Dakar title but Al-Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel expertly avoided trouble.

“It was an incredible Dakar for us. The whole race went without a hitch,” Al-Attiyah said. "We opened up a gap on the first day and have since managed our lead. We're really happy, and I reckon we’ll start thinking of the next Dakar in a week or 10 days.”

Al-Attiyah's fourth Dakar tied him for second most with Ari Vatanen. Peterhansel leads with eight.

Loeb's second place matched his 2017 result in Argentina.