Tupiza, Bolivia: Former champion Carlos Sainz of Spain has been forced out of the Dakar Rally after his Peugeot was badly damaged in an accident, his team said on Friday.
Sainz, the 2010 Dakar winner, is the second top auto competitor to quit the race in South America after former two-time winner Nasser Al Attiyah of Qatar.
The Spaniard lost control of his vehicle which rolled over just five km from the finish of Thursday’s gruelling fourth stage between San Salvador de Jujuy in Argentine and Tupiza in Bolivia.
“It appears that the necessary work cannot be carried out within the time allowed,” Peugeot Sport said in a statement.
“I’m obviously very disappointed by this withdrawal,” said Sainz, also a two-time world rally champion in 1990 and 1992.
“I regret not being able to to challenge.”
Sainz had been provisionally third in the standings when misfortune hit more than seven minutes behind French race leader and Peugeot teammate Cyril Despres.
The 54-year-old took to the road again after two hours stranded but finished the special 2hr 19min behind Despres, ending his hopes of winning the race for a second time.
The 521km fourth stage of the Dakar Rally — dubbed the most difficult by organisers since the race moved to South America — proved fatal for several key challengers.
Defending motorcycle champion Toby Price was forced out after breaking his left leg, joining two-time auto winner Al Attiyah on the sidelines.
Australian rider Price suffered his race-ending injury when he tumbled off his KTM motorbike after 371km as the 9,000km race climbed into the dizzying altitudes of the Andes.
The 29-year-old had to be airlifted off the course, which hit 3,000 metres above sea level, to hospital.
Earlier in the day, Al Attiyah was also forced to pull out after his Toyota lost a wheel on Wednesday’s third stage, a setback which left him stranded for over an hour.
Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) displaced Joan Barreda (Honda) as the overall leader of the motorcycle segment after the Spanish rider saw an hour added to his time for a penalty.
Barreda’s Honda teammates Michael Metge and Paulo Gonçalves were likewise penalised when the judges concluded that all three riders had refuelled in a prohibited zone during the stage.
Matthias Walkner (KTM) finished first in the stage with a time of 4:57:22.
Friday’s fifth stage is from Tupiza to Oruro in Bolivia with Despres leading the auto race and Barreda in charge of the moto event.
