Stéphane Peterhansel, 57, will not register his name for the fifteenth time (motorcycle and car combined) on the Dakar track record, which takes place in the sand of Saudi Arabia. The French driver had an accident with his hybrid Audi at km 212 of the 6th special when he was leading the stage between Hail and Ryad (560 km including 358 of special).
The victory record holder had nothing but his co-driver, Édouard Boulanger, suffered from back pain. “He was airlifted by the Dakar medical service to Buraydah hospital to undergo additional examinations,” explained the organizers of the rally-raid.
Before having to retire, the Audi team was second overall, 22 minutes behind Nasser al-Attiyah (Toyota). Spaniard Carlos Sainz, also driving an Audi, had an accident at the same place, and was waiting to repair his vehicle to resume the race.
Stage 6 was cut short due to heavy rain this week in Saudi Arabia. Weather conditions having made the al-Duwadimi camp site, where the finish was initially planned, inaccessible, the timed section was reduced by 100 km to finish the stage in Riyadh.