Although the five-time Dakar winner Nasser al-Attijah and Edouard Boulanger completed the 428-kilometer high-speed section between al-Ula and Hail the fastest, the Qatari and French duo competing with Dacia received a ten-minute penalty for finishing without a spare tire. Thus, the Quinteros were one second ahead of them.
Overall leader Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings achieved the fourth time, while second-placed Jazid al-Rajji and Timo Gottschalk, a Saudi-German duo, were fifth. Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist were third fastest in the stage with Ford (and only eight seconds behind), the Swedish duo is still in third position after five stages. The Quinteros are in ninth place overall.
In the motorcycle category, the Argentinian Luciano Benavides won with KTM. He also owes his first place to a penalty, because the originally fastest Frenchman Adrien van Beveren drove too fast in a section with a speed limit, and because of this, two minutes were added to his result, so he finished second. Australian Daniel Sanders, the overall leader, was only 12th on his KTM this time.
In the field of trucks, the trio of Miklós Kovács, Péter Czeglédi and László Ács, competing with Scania, finished in 12th place on Thursday’s stage, and they occupy 16th position overall.
In the Classic category, the pair of Péter Hamza and András Kalmár finished 56th, and the pair of Tamás Mikucza and András Bakó finished 81st on Thursday. Overall, the Hamzás are in the 58th position, and the Mikuczás are in the 81st position.
Stage 5, al-Ula – Hail (428 km), drivers:
1. Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz (USA, Germany, Toyota) 4:32:53
2. Nasser al-Attijah, Edouard Boulanger (Qatari, French, Dacia) 1 second down
3. Matthias Ekström, Emil Bergkvist (Sweden, Ford) 8 mp h.
in the composite:
1. Henk Lategan, Brett Cummings (South Africa, Toyota) 28:10:11
2. Yazid al-Rajji, Timo Gottschalk (Saudi, German, Toyota) 10:17 minutes behind
3. Ekström, Bergkvist 20:54 p h.
bikers:
1. Luciano Benavides (Argentina, KTM) 4:53:00
2. Adrien van Beveren (France, Honda) 47 seconds behind
3. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Chile, Hero) 1:31 p.m.
in the composite:
1. Daniel Sanders (Australia, KTM) 30:20:15
2. Tosha Scharenia (Spain, Honda) 7:02 minutes behind
3. Ross Branch (botswanai, Hero) 17:48 p h.
Friday will be a rest day, and on the Saturday stage of the Dakar Rally, a 604-kilometer high-speed stage awaits the field between Hail and al-Duvadimi.
Source: www.vezess.hu
