Thursday’s 420km test between Al-’Ula and Yanbu marked Loeb’s last real chance of overhauling Audi’s Carlos Sainz Sr in the overall standings, with Friday’s final stage being too short to make a serious impact.
The Prodrive star had a 13-minute deficit to overcome in one of the most treacherous stages of 2024 Dakar, but his hopes of a maiden victory in the marathon were crushed when he hit a big rock after jumping off a crest, damaging the front-right A-arm on his Hunter.
