• Peterhansel extends his lead
• Three legs remaining

Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger (both FRA) not only took the stage win on leg nine, around the city of Neom, but the MINI JCW Buggy crew also managed to extend its overall lead by twelve minutes. They now lead upon second-placed Nasser Al-Attiyah by almost 18 minutes. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (both ESP) finished twelfth in the MINI JCW Buggy after suffering technical issues. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) and Dmitry Tsyro (UKR) ended the stage in 15th place in the MINI JCW Rally.

Peterhansel and Boulanger were unbeatable today. Although they had to open the route again over the course of the stage, the opposition was unable to catch them. Unlike many other competitors, they came remained puncture-free on a stage that was again very stony in places. For Peterhansel it is the first stage win in this year’s Dakar, he has held the overall lead since stage two.  However, they must now open the route on tomorrow’s stage.

Luck was not on the side of their team-mates Sainz and Cruz. As well as a puncture, they also had issues with the brakes. However, they do still lie third in the overall standings.

Stéphane Peterhansel: “That was a real Dakar stage: difficult navigation, challenging dunes – not only a question of speed, but also strategy. We knew it was going to be a long day, which is why we did not go flat-out, but rather tried to manage the tyres. In the end, we were able to overtake Carlos and Nasser.”

Carlos Sainz: “This leg was even tougher for me than it was for the others. We had problems with the brakes. We tried to repair them, but had no brake fluid. So we could only finish the stage with a clear loss of time.”

The Dakar 2021 is moving slowly but surely towards its conclusion, with four legs remaining. Tomorrow, the Dakar caravan moves to AlUla. The 342-kilometre stage will mostly take place on sandy routes.

—

Result of SS9
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 4h 50m 27s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 5h 02m 27s
3. G. De Villiers (RSA) / A. Haro (ESP) – Toyota – 5h 02m 46s
4. Y. Al-Rajhi (KSA) / D. von Zitzewitz (GER) – Toyota – 5h 03m 11
5. B. Baragwanath (RSA) / T. Perry (RSA) – Century – 5h 4m 18s
…
12. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 5h 12m 57
…
15. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) – MINI JCW Rally – 5h 18m 44s
…
21. G. Spinelli (BRA) / Y. Haddad (BRA) – MINI ALL4 Racing – 5h 24m 33s
…
32. D. Krotov (RUS) / O. Uperenko (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 5h 42m 20s
…
34. V. Khoroshavtsev (RUS) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 5h 45m 17s

Overall standings after SS9
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 34h 26m 16s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 34h 44m 06s
3. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 35h 28m 41s
4. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Gottschalk (GER) – Toyota – 36h 42m 46s
5. N. Roma (ESP) / A. Winocq (FRA) – Prodrive BRX Hunter – 37h 08m 54s
…
7. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) – MINI JCW Rally – 37h 36m 33s
…
15. G. Spinelli (BRA) / Y. Haddad (BRA) – MINI ALL4 Racing – 40h 15m 00s
…
26. V. Khoroshavtsev (RUS) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 42h 27m 11s
…
31. D. Krotov (RUS) / O. Uperenko (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 44h 38m 48s

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