Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Bernhard Ten Brinke has been performing consistently in Dakar this year to stay in the top-five slots overall. But the Dutch racer hasn’t been able to get to the top of the podium in this race. But that’s changed after his performance yesterday, where he claimed the stage win with a four minute lead over Cyril Despres. Also, with De Villers, Ten Brinke’s teammate, trailing within seconds of him in the last stage, the Dutch racer had to up his game to stay in the fourth position overall.
The three Peugeots finished within 15 seconds of each other with Sainz trailing Despres by five seconds and Peterhansel trailing Sainz by ten. With another stage gone by, Carlos Sainz, the veteran rally racer has the Dakar trophy fairly safe in his hands.
Nasser Al- Attiyah is still fighting hard and has just a three minute lead over his teammate Ten Brinke who seems to have found his pace. With just three more stages to go, Ten Brinke has a fair chance of getting on the podium if Al-Attiyah’s mechanical woes continue.
