Dakar 2026: Carlos Sainz and Roma’s ‘amazing’ reaction before the marathon stage

Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma they had to react. They ended up giving them more time than they wanted in the second stage. Al Attiyah And the favorite rivals fighting for the coveted crown. However, what worried them most was that their planned strategy was slightly behind schedule. But that reaction appears to have happened on the day Quintero, Lategan, Loeb and Al-Attiyah lost.

From stage 3 onwards, Guthrieshowed a devastating pace and became the new leader of this class. Dakar 2026 He had a 26 second advantage over Prokop (Ford’s private driver). Ekström 3rd place at 1 minute 08 seconds, Carlos Sainz moved into fourth place with a time of 3 minutes 34 seconds. From more than 6 minutes away Al Attiyahjust three positions behind the leader. About 8 minutes behind Al Attiyah (The Qataris are 11 minutes 39 seconds behind the leader) Meanwhile, Nani Roma come to occupy 5th place overall with 4’02”. This is a clear example that there is still much left to do and that the classification can change and turn around every day depending on each starting position, attack options, and strategic intent.

Stage 3 could give him the option of catching up even further back and fighting for the stage win. But it represented a poisonous gift that they wanted to avoid. Winning or getting ahead meant taking a big risk by opening the track tomorrow for the first of the Dakar’s two marathon stages (Stage 4). “Then I’ll go to sleep.”said Carlos Sainz when asked by his MD, despite having to cut back against his opponents in this third stage. I couldn’t save any more because I couldn’t afford to waste any more time. However, it was too dangerous to attack with full force. And finally, they seem to have opted for a mixed strategy. That is, to buy time in a controlled way without going crazy and without running any particular risk of winning.

to Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma were always seen close to the best in the battle for the stages. Even Folgerol’s players led the checkpoint. But in the end, it started to get further and further away from just 2 or 3 minutes away. All because of Sainz’s two punctures and Nani’s two punctures. They had to slow down to reach the finish line carefully. But the time they won compared to their opponent’s bad days might be enough. A flat tire may seem like a bad thing, but it’s actually the opposite.

The starting position for Stage 4 is better than opening the track. Because the routes of the two modes are different, the car also won’t have the bike mark as a guide and you won’t have to face the difficult task of shooting without a truck. It was like a circular stage. A “Fordmidable” strategy for oval racers with five cars in the top five overall. Force took the stage with Guthrie and they watched. Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma were a little more involved in the battle for the title and had very good times compared to Al Attiyah and the Toyotas.

The reason Carlos didn’t want an open stage became very clear during this third 421km special. Navigation is very difficult, the unmarked course can cause a lot of confusion, and there are many stones. Toyota had achieved results the previous day with five cars finishing in the top five of the stage. But the track open condemned them: Quintero, the stage 2 winner and responsible for the track open, lost a whopping 55 minutes. Lategan, who started second, lost 23 minutes. Al Rajhi, who started at number three, saved the day by conceding a goal in 16 minutes. However, please be careful as this is a warning to Carlos and Roma ahead of the 4th stage. Loeb, who started seventh, also made a mistake and lost 25 minutes. Al Attiyah also said that today was an “important day” for the Dakar. Qatar started the stage in 8th place, but lost 22 minutes.

So, Nasser will start Stage 4 from 16th place. Loeb, takes 18th place. They are given a magical opportunity to follow the remaining line of vehicles and attack from the rear. more Carlos Sainz and Roma while Nasser and Loeb Now, the general classification is even worse. Strategy questions. No one knows who will be the winner.

Cristina Gutierrez shines as Laia continues to climb the ranks

Burgos Cristina Gutierrez shines once again behind the wheel of a Dacia, finishing second in the Groupe Renault brand’s Dream Team. He finished 5th on the stage, 5 minutes and 57 seconds behind the winner, behind his teammate Lucas Moraes (4th). The Spaniard was on the verge of finishing fourth, bettering his best stage result (fifth) achieved in the car class last year, but Botterill was accompanied by a Catalan navigator. Oriol Mena moved up to third place, one place ahead of Tortu. Christina is currently 7th overall at 5’59”. I had a great result before the marathon stage, but I knew starting stage 4 in 5th place could mean losing time.

Lia Sanz She continued to progress at a great pace and this time finished 13th at 15’13”. It could have been an even better result had she not had to stop to hand over the spare wheel to another driver. The Catalan was 18th at 27’55” and was already inside the top 20, increasing her position each day.

Isidore Esteve He finished 30th and 34th overall. This is due to what happened in stage 2 and the fact that we spent a lot of time in the starting position. Nandu Jubany He achieved a good result of 26th place in Stage 3, and is already 29th overall.