January 5, 2017 – Peugeot’s Cyril Despres took the Dakar Rally lead today as he claimed victory in the fourth special stage while his team-mates Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz ran into trouble.
The five-time Dakar bike winner moved from fifth to first place overall as Carlos Sainz rolled and Sebastien Loeb lost precious time. Despres now leads ahead of team-mate Stephane Peterhansel and X-Raid Mini’s Mikko Hirvonen.
Loeb dropped to fourth place overall and Sainz to 12th overall. Mohamed Abu Issa is currently the best-placed Arab driver in 10th place, while Khalid Al Qassimi holds 17th place overall.
KSA’s Yazeed Al Rajhi retired from the event after feeling unwell.
| Pos. | N° | Name | Mark | Time | Variation | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 307 | DESPRES (FRA) | PEUGEOT | 11:33:16 | – | – |
| 2 | 300 | PETERHANSEL (FRA) | PEUGEOT | 11:37:24 | 00:04:08 | – |
| 3 | 303 | HIRVONEN (FIN) | MINI | 11:38:20 | 00:05:04 | – |
| 4 | 309 | LOEB (FRA) | PEUGEOT | 11:40:04 | 00:06:48 | – |
| 5 | 305 | ROMA (ESP) | TOYOTA | 11:43:46 | 00:10:30 | – |
| 6 | 316 | PRZYGONSKI (POL) | MINI | 12:09:51 | 00:36:35 | – |
| 7 | 302 | DE VILLIERS (ZAF) | TOYOTA | 12:17:15 | 00:43:59 | – |
| 8 | 308 | TERRANOVA (ARG) | MINI | 12:21:53 | 00:48:37 | – |
| 9 | 314 | GARAFULIC (CHL) | MINI | 12:54:36 | 01:21:20 | – |
| 10 | 322 | ABU-ISSA (QAT) | MINI | 13:09:06 | 01:35:50 | – |
