Nasser Al-Attiyah Leads Dakar Rally At One-Week Mark

Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel lead the Dakar Rally after seven stages, putting them in position to defend their 2022 win in the rally raid event. Al-Attiyah, a four-time winner, leads by over an hour after today's seventh stage.

Toyotas hold the top four positions in the event, with Overdrive Racing's entry sitting in between the three factory cars running first, second, and fourth. The highest non-Toyota in the field is Bahrain Raid Xtreme's Prodrive entry run by WRC legend Sebastian Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin. No other entrant is within two hours of Al-Attiyah, but two-time Le Mans winner Romain Dumas and co-driver Max Delfino sit two hours and 12 minutes back in the lead entry from former FIA World Endurance Championship stalwarts Rebellion Racing.

Notably, neither of Audi's two remaining entries are anywhere near contention for the rally lead. Mattias Ekstrom and co-driver Emil Bergkvist lead the high-profile program in just 20th, nearly five hours out of the lead. The team has been plagued by constant misfortunes, most recently a mechanical issue that forced Ekstrom to stop for repairs with help from teammate Carlos Sainz during today's seventh stage. Sainz is scored 29 hours behind the leader, while Stefane Peterhansel has already withdrawn from the event following injuries to co-driver Edouard Boulanger.

The Dakar Rally wraps up next Sunday. Seven stages remain, plus a rest day on Monday.

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