Al-Attiyah conquers the eleventh stage in the face of Peterhansel's rule

Peterhansel has controlled at will a special conquered finally by Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari sheikh and driver took the partial victory after crossing the finish line, cutting 1:56 to the Gaul, in a stage in which Peterhansel and his companion have suffered a scare near the end.

The French rider got a puncture by hitting a rock hidden in the dunes, however, in the final stretch they slowed down and managed to save the day. So, "Monsieur Dakar" will be looking for the sentence tomorrow, on the last stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally.

The difference with Al-Attiyah remains at 15:05 for the 225 kilometres of the twelfth and last special stage. He has in his hand to take what would be his fourteenth title in the category.

The driver from Madrid, Carlos Sainz, competed very well again and finished in third position, 2:26 from the Qatari. He had no luck in a special stage in which, moreover, he suffered two punctures in a row at the end that left him without spare wheels and the breakage of the Mini's roof air intake when he hit a loose wire.

The distance separating him from the leader in the general classification is 1 hour and 4 minutes. However, if he is able to maintain the position he will occupy the podium.

In the motorbike category, the British rider Sam Sunderland has won the penultimate stage of the Dakar disputed between Al-Ula and Yanbu with a length of 464 kilometres and still has a minimal option of taking the final victory, something that he will look for this Friday towards Jeddah where the Dakar of Saudi Arabia ends.

However, this stage has served the Argentinean Kevin Benavides to reinforce his leadership, while the Spanish driver Joan Barreda has been forced to abandon. When he was in fourth position in the general classification, 15 minutes from the lead, the Spaniard skipped a refuelling point and ran out of petrol at kilometre 267. In this way, Barreda asked for the assistance of the medical team and was transported by helicopter to the bivouac, confirming his abandonment.

This is how this Dakar ended for him, just on the day he had thrown himself into the jugular of Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec, who were first and second. Barreda was making up twelve of the fifteen minutes he had lost to the Argentinean, which is why this mistake, which condemned all his options, is particularly painful.

As for the title fight, Benavides extended his lead thanks to Ricky Brabec's bad day, who lost almost 13 minutes to the winner. In this way, the Argentinean will start the last stage on Friday with a 4:12 advantage over Sunderland and 7:13 over the American, who needs a ruling from the main favourite to take the trophy.