Carlos Sainz reflected on his decision whether to retire after the 2026 Dakar, saying: “For now, I’m sticking to that part of this Dakar.”

Carlos Sainz Upon arriving at the bivouac Al-Hinakiyahafter a stage 11 conflict, dakarspoke to the Spanish press while taking part in the world’s toughest race, confirming that he remains motivated to continue accelerating in recent days, despite being ruled out of the race for the throne due to navigation problems at a difficult point in the roadbook.

There are Doctor of Medicine I took the opportunity to ask him about his future. your buddy Nani Roma, ford8 minutes and 50 seconds behind the leader, and the battle for the Touareg continues. Al Attiyah and Ford Raptor T1+ It proved to be a competitive car. Furthermore, Carlos Sainz has shown his usual speed over the past two weeks. So Doctor of Medicine He wanted to know whether all these factors, and the fact that he had been in the title race until the 10th stage, could tip the balance towards continuing for another year in the Dakar and postponing a possible retirement.

“No, I’ll evaluate it after the race is over, but as I always do, it’s not over yet. I want to focus on putting in a good stage tomorrow and the day after.” Said. But “El Matador” wanted to add an important nuance to his response. And when Carlos does something, it’s usually not by chance.

“What is clear is that the car is doing well, the car is competitive and the team is at a good level. And so far there are positives left from this Dakar. We did a good job, Nani (Roma) is fighting to win and I believe we are also fighting to win the race…” It’s, well, it’s the job of the whole team, not just me of course, but all the engineers, the drivers, everyone and of course the mechanics, and that’s the important thing. ” he expressed. He emphasized the positives more than the negatives and emphasized that he was driving a competitive car. And when Carlos knows he has a car that can win, it’s hard for Carlos to let go. Even though he is 63 years old and has earned the right to decide to leave if he wants.

What is clear is that the car was in good shape, it was competitive, the team was at a good level and we were fighting to win.

Carlos Sainz on his post-Dakar decisions

“The truth is that it was a very great Dakar, with three brands, even four brands winning stages.”he continued. and “The sense of realism and tension of these daily battles is also nice, isn’t it?” this newspaper asked him.

Are you satisfied with how you have fought for the title so far?

“Yes, of course, as a veteran as I am, and I was in the fight until yesterday, well, that’s good, right? But, well, it doesn’t give me any particular satisfaction, does it? “I wanted to fight until the last day and fight there, but things are what they are and what happened yesterday happened and, well, no more.”he expressed.

“Then next year…”The newspaper told him. Carlos responded with a smile before heading to the caravan for a well-deserved shower. He is focused on continuing to accelerate in the next two stages. Then comes the time to look in the mirror and make a decision.

“It was a very eventful stage.”

In this conversation with the Spanish media present at the bivouac immediately after getting out of the car, the Spaniard emphasized the speed of the stage and the stones.

“It was a special, very, very fast course and there were some very rocky sections that slowed me down but, well, it was no problem. I took it a little easier on the stones. Matthias Ekström caught us and we did the whole stage in his dust until the end when he passed us. ”he added.

I wanted to win the stage.

“Yes, we went to try. As you can see, I was more calm on the stone than Matthias. After he caught me, I said: “Well, I’ll continue at the pace I’m going to go.”

The stage wasn’t that difficult

“No, no, no, it was very, very fast, except for the most complicated stone area, about 40 kilometers or so.”

Is it the goal from here to the end?

“After the rally, aim for a good stage tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be third. You will suffer a little, but try to aim for a good stage and complete the race.”

Is there anything we can do for Nani at the team level? Would you like to think of something?

“The only thing we can do is we had Mitch[Guthrie]waiting for him today. Tomorrow we’ll see if he comes out from behind, gets covered and attacks as much as possible to get as close to Nasser as possible.”

Did you think there would be more sailing in Stage 11?

“Well, it was clear that there were no signs of bikes during the two days of the marathon. It’s very noticeable with and without bike signs.”

Is it more difficult to continue in Dakar now or are you staying motivated?

“No, I think at the moment I’m happy with the pace so far. And considering the 15 minutes and the 30 minutes I lost yesterday, and also the Dakar, there’s nothing more to talk about.”