- Special Stage 4 of Dakar 2021 in Saudi Arabia brought a third consecutive stage win for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel in the Toyota Gazoo Hilux after they beat their closest competitor Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy, by 11sec over the 337-kilometre timed section between Wadi Ad-Dawasir and the Saudi capital Riyadh. The pair, currently second in the overall standings, reduced their gap to the overall lead to under five minutes despite their position as the pathfinder at the head of the field.
- Dakar rookie Henk Lategan, and navigator Brett Cummings, pushed team mate Nasser throughout the day, even beating the Qatari through some waypoints. Henk showed maturity and skill to finish third on the stage, trailing Nasser by just 1min 30sec and moving up into fourth place in the overall standings.
- Dakar veteran Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro initially looked on course for a solid result on Stage 4 but Giniel suffered from neck pains and had to reduce speed in the rough sections. They also lost time towards the end of the stage due to a navigational error to finish 15th. The pair will look to improve their position over tomorrow’s 456-kilometre Stage 5 from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah.
- Shameer Variawa and navigator Dennis Murphy recorded a solid performance on Stage 4 despite starting down the order, and in the dust of trucks and slower competitors. The pair lost some time due to a navigational error near the end of the stage to improve to 43rd in the overall standings.
Overall standings after SS4
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 13h 15m 12s
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 13h 20m 10s
3. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 13h 51m 31s
4. S. Loeb (FRA) / D. Elena (MCO) – Prodrive – 14h 03m 26s
5. H. Lategan (RSA) / B. Cummings (RSA) – Toyota – 15h 03m 56s