THE DACIA SANDRIDERS CELEBRATES BACK-TO-BACK STAGE WINS AS AL-ATTIYAH MOVES AHEAD

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger have reached the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge’s Marathon Camp on a high following their pacesetting heroics for The Dacia Sandriders.

In fightback mode after they were handed a one-minute time penalty for a false start on Stage 2, Al-Attiyah and Boulanger were on a charge from the beginning of Stage 3 this morning (Tuesday) and completed today’s wind-affected 237 competitive kilometres with the fastest time of 3h15m28s.

They will now prepare for a night away from the bivouac in Mezeer’ah with FIA World Rally-Raid Championship Marathon Stage rules preventing assistance or contact from team personnel and requiring crews to camp overnight before the action resumes tomorrow (Wednesday).

However, Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and Boulanger (France) will bed down for the night in the knowledge they are now leading the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge by a margin of 49s after they won Stage 3 by 3m59s in their sustainable-fuelled Dacia Sandrider. If they remain in front to the finish, it would be Al-Attiyah’s fifth victory on the event and Boulanger’s third.

Team-mates Sébastien Loeb (France) and Fabien Lurquin (Belgium), who were hampered by opening the road today after winning Stage 2 on Monday, were the fifth fastest crew to reach the Marathon Camp – following a section through the sand dunes of Al Qou – 4m38.5s slower than Al-Attiyah/Boulanger. But the addition of a two-minute time penalty for exceeding the speed in a limited speed zone along the route means Loeb/Lurquin go from being 46s to 2m46s behind the leaders in third place.

Nevertheless, it’s been another strong day for The Dacia Sandriders, which has now registered six W2RC stage wins following its debut on Rallye du Maroc last October.

“It’s a really good day even if we were opening the road and this was the first part of the Marathon Stage,” said Tiphanie Isnard, team principal of The Dacia Sandriders. “It’s always a bit stressful when the car leaves the bivouac in the morning for two big stages. But the first one was with no technical drama so that’s really good. It was a really good drive by Seb, with Fabien navigating. When he’s back, he’s back strong, we have no doubt about that. Nasser and Édouard have done a fantastic job and have the lead now. We have to keep it until the end of the rally of course, but it’s been a good day and good for the team to enjoy a bit of a relaxed day after all their hard work.”

The two-part Marathon Stage concludes tomorrow (Wednesday) with a 394-kilometre route back to Mezeer’ah, including 300 kilometres against the clock. February 26 also coincides with Sébastien Loeb turning 51 although the Frenchman’s focus will be firmly on securing a podium finish for The Dacia Sandriders.

KEY QUOTES

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“The stage was very difficult but we did a really good job and we win the stage. There were no problems but there was a lot of wind and sometimes the tracks disappeared.”

SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“It was a really difficult stage for us being first on the road. The wind takes off all the lines and we didn’t see the lines of the motorbikes, so it was really difficult. We lost some time.”

ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE STAGE 3 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)

Mezeer’ah-Marathon Camp

Stage distance: 237 km / Liaison distance: 151 km / Total distance: 388 km

1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 3h15m28s

6th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 3h22m06s

ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE PROVISIONAL OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 3

(UNOFFICIAL)

1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 9h27m30s

3rd: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 9h30m16s

ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE: THE BIG NUMBER

6: The fastest time for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger on Stage 3 of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge increases The Dacia Sandriders’ tally of stage wins in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship to six.

THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 4, FEBRUARY 26

The penultimate day of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge tomorrow (Wednesday) marks the conclusion of the two-part Marathon Stage and a return to Mezeer’ah.

Stage distance: 300 km / Liaison distance: 94 km / Total distance: 394 km