Chicherit recorded his very first stage win of the rally in 2009, crossing the finish line ahead of Mitsubishi's Orlando Terranova and last year's winner Giniel de Villiers.
“I attacked right from the start and we nearly crashed with Nasser. He didn't want to let us past. We were door-to-door for around 100 metres. He shot in front of me in a bend, but in the next one I move ahead of him, and after that I was away. It was a close shave. It's good to drive with a bit of freedom,” said the BMW driver, who was forced to drive on team orders for the majority of the rally because of his immense time loss in the very first stage of the 2010 Dakar.
Sainz lost almost half of his overall lead to Al-Attiyah due to a couple of punctures on the road, and admitted he had one of the most difficult stages in the rally so far. His teammate and rival for the Dakar win echoed his thoughts at the end of the stage, while also promising an open stage on Thursday.
“This stage I thought would be easy, but it was not easy. We were in the dust of Carlos, and we missed the road and we hit a big tree. We were really lucky not to roll, yet I took five minutes from him. Tomorrow everything is open. I want to win the Dakar,” said Al-Attiyah.
Here's the overall classification with 3 days before the curtain falls on the 2010 Dakar Rally:
1. Carlos Sainz (VW) 39h16m55s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (VW) + 4:28
3. Mark Miller (VW) + 23:50
4. Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) + 2:09:53
5. Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) + 2:23:40
6. Carlos Sousa (Mitsubishi) + 3:54:12
7. Giniel de Villiers (VW) + 4:39:33
8. Guilherme Spinelli (Mitsubishi) + 5:28:25
9. Orlando Terranova (Mitsubishi) + 5:33:42
10. Robby Gordon (Hummer) + 5:41:38
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