Bahrain Raid Xtreme driver Loeb was untouchable in the 274km special between Shaybah and Empty Quarter, throwing caution to the wind in the first part of the two-day marathon stage to score a 2m16s victory over GCK Motorsport's Guerlain Chicherit.
Loeb had pulled out of a lead of over a minute just 63km into the stage and his advantage peaked at 3m06s at two-thirds distance, but he lost some time in comparison to his rivals through to the two final checkpoints of the stage, which took drivers to Saudi Arabia's infamous sand desert.
