Prodrive Hunters secure 1-2-3 result on another big day for Bahrain Raid Xtreme | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM …

Prodrive Hunters secure 1-2-3 result on another big day for Bahrain Raid Xtreme | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM …

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Sebastien Loeb gave Bahrain Raid Xtreme a second successive stage victory in the Dakar Rally today as Prodrive Hunters dominated proceedings with a 1-2-3 result in Saudi Arabia.

Partnered by Fabian Lurquin, Loeb secured his third win in this year’s event on the 358km ninth stage from Riyadh to Haradh to boost his challenge for a podium finish in his BRX Prodrive Hunter.

Loeb was fastest from the start, and set the pace for almost the entire day, briefly conceding the lead to the Prodrive Hunter of Vaidotas Zala at one point, eventually beating the Lithuanian into second place by 57 secs. This was despite a 2 min 10 secs road section time penalty.

Stage three winners Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq set the third fastest time in their Prodrive Hunter, making it the fifth stage in a row that the trio of cars each running on sustainable fuel had all finished in the top ten.

Loeb’s 19th Dakar Rally stage victory lifted him to third place in the overall standings, as Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, almost nine minutes off the pace on the day in eighth, still extended his overall advantage to 1 hr 21 mins 57