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Nasser Al-Attiyah claims Toyota's first Dakar Rally victory

Nasser Al-Attiyah has claimed a milestone first Dakar Rally win for Toyota in the 2019 edition of the race

Al-Attiyah, who previously won the Dakar with Volkswagen in 2011 and Mini four years after that, switched to driving a Toyota Hilux ahead of the '17 race.

He retired early from his first attempt with the Japanese manufacturer, before finishing second to Peugeot's Carlos Sainz Sr in 2018 and then dominating this year's event in the works Peugeot team's absence.

Al-Attiyah led the general classification on each day of the rally but the second, when his Toyota team-mate Giniel de Villiers briefly headed the rankings instead before being ruled out of victory contention by a rock incident the day after.

As all of his other main rivals encountered numerous problems, Al-Attiyah's lead ballooned gradually.

On Thursday he completed the final 70-mile test between Pisco and Lima to win by 46m42s over nearest rival Nani Roma.

X-raid Mini driver Roma went without a stage win for a fourth consecutive Dakar, but was consistent enough to secure the runner-up spot with ease - taking his first podium finish in the marathon since his 2014 triumph.

Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb rounded out the podium in his PH Sport-run privateer Peugeot 3008 DKR.

He topped the most stages in the class at four, but recurring reliability troubles and a major navigational mishap left him almost two hours adrift of Al-Attiyah at the finish.

Jakub Przygonski clinched his best Dakar finish yet in fourth place for X-raid Mini, while sometime WRC regular Martin Prokop did likewise with sixth place in his privateer Ford Raptor.

Cyril Despres was between them, ending up as the highest-placed of X-raid's three Mini buggies in fifth.

Mini drivers Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Boris Garafulic made up the top eight, ahead of Toyota pair de Villiers and Ronan Chabot.

After Stephane Peterhansel claimed the Mini buggy's first two Dakar stage wins but then retired from fourth place overall following a penultimate-day crash, squadmate Sainz beat Loeb by 42 seconds on the final day for his own maiden stage win in the buggy.

But Sainz's title defence had unravelled as early as stage three, and the two-time WRC champion ultimately placed only 13th.

Stage 10 times

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Carlos Sainz X-Raid Mini John Cooper Works Rally Team Mini/BMW 1h20m01.s
2 Sebastien Loeb PH-Sport Peugeot 42.s
3 Cyril Despres X-Raid Mini John Cooper Works Rally Team Mini/BMW 2m31.s
4 Benediktas Vanagas General Financing Team Pitlane Toyota 3m38.s
5 Jakub Przygonski Orlen Team / X-Raid Mini/BMW 3m41.s
6 Nani Roma X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 4m16.s
7 Boris Garafulic X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 5m53.s
8 Pierre Lachaume PH-Sport Peugeot 6m22.s
9 Ronan Chabot Overdrive Toyota Toyota 7m13.s
10 Nicolas Fuchs Ford 8m13.s

Leading finishers

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 34h38m14.s
2 Nani Roma X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 46m42.s
3 Sebastien Loeb PH-Sport Peugeot 1h54m18.s
4 Jakub Przygonski Orlen Team / X-Raid Mini/BMW 2h28m31.s
5 Cyril Despres X-Raid Mini John Cooper Works Rally Team Mini/BMW 2h48m43.s
6 Martin Prokop MP Sports Ford 3h19m02.s
7 Yazeed Al-Rajhi X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 4h30m56.s
8 Boris Garafulic X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 7h57m58.s
9 Giniel de Villiers Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 7h59m16.s
10 Ronan Chabot Overdrive Toyota Toyota 8h09m58.s

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