Al-Attiyah maintains lead; Stage win for al-Rajhi

Al-Attiyah maintains lead; Stage win for al-Rajhi

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger in action during the fourth stage of the Rally-Raid Portugal.

Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger continue to lead the Rally-Raid Portugal after the fourth stage in Western Spain on Saturday afternoon.The Qatari opened the road and erred on the side of caution over the demanding and abrasive terrain. The defending W2RC champion was content to come home with the eighth quickest time but he saw his lead trimmed to 2min 41sec when second-placed Joao Ferreira came home fifth on the day’s stage.Al-Attiyah said: “We opened the road and tried not to waste time. It was an okay day. I’m happy to finish the stage without any problems. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”With just north of 70km in timed sections on the menu today, the race is al-Attiyah’s to lose. After an almost Dakar-like day for its duration on Friday, Saturday’s itinerary offered a competitive section entirely in Spain. The 208km stage ran to the south of Badajoz in the vicinity of the communes of Zafra and Fregenal de la Sierra before a long road section returned competitors to Grândola in Portugal.Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro remain