RALLYING – Toyota’s Henk Lategan dominated stage eight of the Dakar Rally yesterday, and despite a speed violation, the win extended his overall lead after the previous day’s chaotic race had virtually wiped out his advantage over closest rival Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Dakar Rally organisers were forced to erase any gains or losses for a 20km stretch during Sunday’s stage over a road book note error, and Lategan’s lead had been cut to 21 seconds.
Lategan bounced back, triumphing on the 487km special from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, with Al Rajhi down in sixth, coming in five minutes and 20 seconds behind the South African, with the local driver now five minutes and 41 seconds adrift overall.
The stage winner received a two-minute penalty for speeding during a control zone, but Lategan still finished one minute and 47 seconds ahead of fellow-South African and team mate Guy Botterill who had pushed the leader for long parts of the stage.
Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings, who also won the prologue, have led the race since stage two, and the pair have four stages left, with Tuesday taking the drivers from Riyadh to Haradh.
In the motorcycle category, Argentina’s Luciano Benavides won the stage ahead of Adrien Van Beveren, after the pair were re-credited with the time they spent assisting Pablo Quintanilla after his fall during the stage, which forced him to withdraw.
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