For their first start on one of the toughest events in motorsport, the Dacia Sandriders made a strong impression. Combining flawless collective and great performances with a stage victory, the team saw Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger play for the podium until the finish of the Dakar Rally. After nearly 5,000 kilometers of competition in formidable conditions, the appointment is set for the rest of the season in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship before the 2026 edition.
After their victorious debut last October at the Rallye du Maroc, the Dacia Sandriders tackled one of the most emblematic races on the planet. Aware of the immense challenge that awaited it, the team also faced one of the most difficult courses in the recent history of the Dakar Rally, organized for the sixth consecutive year in Saudi Arabia.
Over the two weeks, the Sandrider equipped with BF Goodrich tires and Aramco sustainable fuel demonstrated that Dacia’s robust fundamentals and approach to the essentials had their place on the most hostile terrains. In this human and technical adventure carried out at a breakneck pace, the structure led by Tiphanie Isnard finished within a breath of the podium, thus signing a promising result for the future.
Having become a three-time world rally raid champion by winning the Sandrider’s competitive debut, Nasser Al-Attiyah took the start of the Dakar Rally in search of a sixth success.
First to set off with his navigator Édouard Boulanger, the Qatari was on the pace from the prologue. A fine tactician, he then put his experience to good use in view of the “48 hours flat”, where he consolidated his presence on the provisional podium before the breakage of the outer ball joint of the lower rear suspension triangle.
The duo conceded a little less than half an hour thanks to the assistance of their teammates and the Sandrider’s innovations intended to facilitate mechanical interventions, like the magnetic zones integrated into the bodywork. Going back on the attack, they were the fastest before the rest day in Hail, but the absence of a spare wheel due to a weakened support earned them a ten-minute penalty and deprived them of first place. for just a second.
-Still in ambush, the crew continued their efforts in the second week. Third between Hail and Al Duwadimi, they produced a masterful performance on Tuesday between Riyadh and Haradh to obtain the Sandrider’s first stage victory at the Dakar Rally.
Having returned very close to the leading trio, the two men nevertheless had to open the road in the first dunes of the Empty Quarter. Trapped by navigation, then by the dust of a competitor, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger did not give up. Already becoming the only driver in history to score a scratch in eighteen consecutive participations in the Dakar Rally, Nasser Al-Attiyah finished with two second best times to seal his fourth position, just 3’37” from the podium and 23 ’58” from the winner…
H.Z
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