The title is “Thomas y Dakar”: Lategan and Al Attiyah attack, Sainz and Roma have a chance tomorrow

of Dakar 2026 machine race for victory is extremely close and unpredictable. And above all, every day Gradually move up in the rankings. It is impossible to draw any conclusions, and the general period thereafter must be judged with some degree of discount. The battle for the Touareg is a constant battle between the winning candidates. Some days, some buy time, others give in. Then, the next day, the situation is completely reversed in terms of departure order.

Among the ups and downs that Nani Roma had already highlighted, Carlos Sainz defined it as the “yo-yo effect”. Consistency is key. Gain as much time as possible in the day when you can attack. And avoid problems at all costs and spend as little time as possible on days when you need to protect yourself. It’s as if one day they give the ball to some guy to score, and the next day the ball ends up in the hands of an opponent with the opposite strategic dynamic.

It’s like a tennis match. It’s not a drama when a tennis player stays and loses points. It’s no miracle he gets the serve. Sainz had to make a subtraction today. Tomorrow he will serve to the best of his ability. And this Dakar is turning into a tennis match with multiple winners and unpredictable outcomes.

In Dakar, opening the track is a big penalty. Starting from the first 4, 5, or even 7 or 8 is a waste of time, but no one has to suffer because it delays the starting position for recovery in later stages. In that match, Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma had to defend themselves in a difficult stage four.. Nani started from 6th and Sainz from 7th. Although the position was not bad enough to open the runway, But both knew they would suffer more than rivals like al-Attiyah., late gun or robestarted in a very back position after losing a lot of time yesterday.

and it happened Lategan and Nasser were the big beneficiaries of the day.. Genk, a South African driver for Toyota’s official team, won the stage, beating Al Attiyah, who came in second place, by seven minutes.. and sebastian Loeb didn’t shine as much as he should and was in 5th place at 17 minutes.so he is left with worse options to win.

On the other side of this “yo-yo” effect, Carlos Sainz defended himself thoroughly during the first part of the marathon stage (no mechanical assistance at the finish line), complicated in terms of navigation as there are no bike tracks on cars today (routes will be different today and tomorrow).

So, Sainz, who started in the lead group, conceded a goal in the 27th minute. And Nani, who started ahead of Carlos in the starting order, suffered 29 losses.. However, the heavy defeat of Nacer and Lategan the day before and the victory of Carlos and Nani means that in the general classification they are absolutely alive to the fight and ready to fish in stage 5. Carlos Sainz remains in 4th place at 15’53” while Roma is 7th at 18’36”.

Ford’s losses were certainly small, but the complexity of the stage was extreme. Carlos Sainz was affected by a navigation error and a puncture. And he ran in the dust for much of the stage, making it difficult to overtake.

“Navigation in the past was a complex step, with only one line after passing a car.”said Nani Roma at the finish line. “It was very difficult to find the track and it was also difficult when I wanted to get up to speed. I got a flat tire at the 50km mark and lost more time than I expected.. But there was nothing more that could be done. Tomorrow we will start further back and see if we can recover.” he added.

The winner was Henk Lategan (new leader). He admitted that it was impossible to figure out how to keep a tire from going flat and that his victory was simply because it was his turn. “lottery”. “We played Russian roulette.” Said. He took maximum risks and it paid off. But the opposite could have happened. Nasser also had a flat tire once. Al Rajhi then gave up due to two punctures and one throw. Pickles.

If Sainz and Roma defend today, they will now attack in the fifth stage from a very late starting position in the second half of the marathon stage. Sainz and Nani will likely start from the top 12 onwards and try to recover.

Lategan, new leader

Currently, after Stage 4, new leader Lategan dominates the overall standings, with a 3 minute 55 second lead over the five-time winner of the event. Dakar Nasser Al-Attiyah (2nd place)) Approximately 13 minutes Ekström (3rd). Carlos Sainz finished 4th with a time of 15 minutes 53 seconds, Nani Roma 7th. To remain in contention for the win, they will need to fight back against their Toyota and Dacia opponents in the fifth stage.

Moraesanother favorite, started from the front and gave up over 35 minutes. Sainz and Roma. This leaves him 26 minutes behind the leader. your partner Dacia, Cristina Gutierrezstarted just behind in Stage 3 from 5th place, but lost 34 minutes and was now 24 minutes from 10th.

Laia Sanz shines again: 14th place

With a strong 13th place in Stage 3, Laia Sanz, in her first year in a top category car (T1+), has fully adapted to the new Ebro and once again showed her light. one of Corvera de Llobregat He achieved a brilliant result of 14th place with a time of 28 minutes and 58 seconds. Nani and SainzOverall, he remains in 18th place, 42 minutes behind the leader.

champion is excluded

The key in this game of attack and defense is to maintain. Try your best, but don’t fail. A game of resistance. And in that context, the first big favorite to be eliminated was reigning champion Yazeed Al-Razi. The Saudi driver will not be able to defend his title to the end in his Toyota after three flat tires broke out during the first half of the marathon stage and he ran out of tires.