Driving their ALL4 Racing Minis, defending Dakar champions Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel were running in fourth place, and their X-Raid teammates, Mikko Hirvonen and Michel Périn, were fifth going into the January 10 rest day on the 2016 Dakar Rally.
So far this year the Mini All 4 Racing, coming into the event with five straight wins, is playing catch up to Peugeot. Dakar rookie and nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena, who have led most of the way, were first going into the rest day in Salta, Argentina.
Al-Attiyah and Baumel finished third on the day’s stage, the seventh of the 2016 event.
The rest day was preceded by three days of mountain stages in Bolivia. After the rest day competition resumes with six stages remaining. Monday’s eighth stage, run from Salta to Belén, Argentina, takes the rally into the high sand dunes for the first time. The Dakar finishes on January 16 in Rosario, Argentina.
Information on the rally route and daily updates appear here. NBC Sports Network continues to provide daily 30-minute updates on the event; most are scheduled for 5:30PM eastern time.—Brian S. Morgan
