Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel in the Qatar Rally Team Mini All4 Racing led the 2015 Dakar rally after eight days of competition. The seventh and eighth stages taken together were a marathon stage that began and ended in Iquique, Chile with an overnight stay in Uyuni, Bolivia. On the seventh night the teams did not have access to their support crews.
Orlando Terranova and Bernardo Graue in a Monster Energy Mini All4 Racing won on the seventh day, while Toyota Hilux runners Yazeed Al-Rajhi, running his first Dakar, and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk won on day eight. Al-Rajih’s win was the first in the event by a car other than a Mini.
Toyota’s Giniel De Villiers cut into Al-Attiyah’s lead on stage seven when Al-Attiyah was slowed by altitude sickness. But Al-Attiyah regained the lost time on stage eight, finishing third ahead of DeVilliers.
Five days of competition remain after Monday’s rest day in Iqique. The 2015 Dakar will end in Buenos Aires on January 17.—Brian S, Morgan
