Spanish car driver Carlos Sainz senior, father of Formula 1 drivers, four-time winner of the Dakar rally and defending champion, retired after the second stage of the rally, which is being driven in Saudi Arabia.
“The end of the adventure for four-time Dakar winner and defending champion, Carlos Sainz, and his co-driver, Lucas Cruz, see you soon, King Carlos,” the organizers of the Dakar Rally said on the X account.
On Sunday, during the first part of the 1,000-kilometer long marathon stage, Sainz experienced a rollover, as a result of which his Ford Raptor car was heavily damaged.
The 62-year-old Spanish rally driver managed to finish the second stage on Monday, but with a gap of more than an hour and a half behind the Lithuanian winner Rokas Bacuska.
Sainz, together with his team, tried to repair the car the previous evening, which had its hood, windshield and roof torn off during the rollover on the dune.
“Damage to the roll bar (cage) forced him to withdraw from the Dakar Rally,” race organizers added.
The Spanish driver was one of the favorites to win the Dakar Rally, where he celebrated four times driving different cars (Volkswagen in 2010, Peugeot in 2018, Mini in 2020 and Audi in 2024).
His son, Carlos Sainz, is a junior driver in Formula 1, and in the new season he will compete for the Williams team.
This year’s Dakar Rally started and ends on January 17.
Source: Sports Journal
Foto: Screenshot / YouTube Soymotor
Source: autoblog.rs
