Al-Attiyah cuts Peterhansel car lead as rookie Quintero triumphs again.

British biker Sam Sunderland produced a superb ride on Thursday’s Stage 11 to give himself a chance of victory on Friday’s final 2021 Dakar Rally stage as Nasser Al-Attiyah reduced Stéphane Peterhansel’s car lead and teenager Seth Quintero won another stage in Saudi Arabia. Here is all you need to know:

– 2017 champion Sunderland has kept plugging away at Argentine Kevin Benavides’ overall bike lead and he won today’s stage to cut the deficit to just 4m12s.

– Sunderland, 31, who drew level with Benavides overall at one point, revealed: “I knew that today was one of my last chances to try to win. I gave my all, all day. I didn’t manage to take quite enough time, but I’m happy.”

– Australian rookie Daniel Sanders finished fourth with 2018 champion Matthias Walkner fifth, Slovakian Stefan Svitko eighth, Spaniard Laia Sanz 19th and France’s Camille Chapeliere 29th heading to the last stage.

– Sanders, 26, who could still claim a podium spot, added: “It was a really cool stage, my favourite one so far. There was lots of variety and it was really difficult. I’m in a good position on my first Dakar.”

– Qatar’s Al-Attiyah, who won the opening prologue, has now added a fifth stage win to his 2021 tally nevertheless he still remains 15m05s behind Peterhansel in his quest for a fourth Dakar title.

– Peterhansel finished second to boost his chance of a record 14th title, while reigning champion Carlos Sainz was third including an extra blast of desert sun when the roof of his MINI Buggy was removed.

– Al-Attiyah, 50, explained: “I’m really happy to be here on day 11 without any technical problems with the car. There’s still one stage to go and we will see what the next day brings.”

– In the Lightweight Vehicle category, rookie Quintero powered to another stage victory by an impressive 12m13s margin over Chilean Chaleco Lopez  – who extended his overall lead – as Quintero’s fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver Cristina Gutiérrez of Spain finished 30 minutes back on the day.

– American Quintero, 18, said: “Today went absolutely amazing. Our plan was to pick cars off all day and run smooth and that’s exactly what we did. We end up as the first over the line and the first on time. It blows my mind how well this Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team works.”

– Finally in the truck category, Russian Anton Shibalov grabbed his second stage victory with a 4m13s gap to compatriot Ayrat Mardeev with Andrey Karginov fourth and Dmitry Sotnikov fifth as Sotnikov holds a huge 39m58s advantage over Shibalov overall.

– Friday’s Stage 12 will see the convoy battle across 225km of special stage from Yanbu to Jeddah where this year’s edition will finish on the shore of the Red Sea.

Overall standings after Stage 11

Car
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) X-Raid Mini 42h09m26s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) Toyota Gazoo +00h15m05s
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) X-Raid Mini +01h04m14s

Bike
1. Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda 45h01m44s
2. Sam Sunderland (GBR) Red Bull KTM +00h4m12s
3. Ricky Brabec (USA) Honda +00h07m13s

Truck
1. Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS) Kamaz Master 45h51m33s
2. Anton Shibalov (RUS) Kamaz Master +00h39m58s
3. Ayrat Mardeev (RUS) Kamaz Master +01h11m30s

Lightweight vehicle
1. F Lopez (CHL) Can-Am 50h49m48s
2. Austin Jones (USA) Can-Am +00h18m24s
3. Aron Domzala (POL) Can-Am +00h54m16s

  • Mattias Ekstrom (SWE) races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar2021 from Alula to Yambu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021 // Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140026 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Laia Sanz (ESP) for Gas Gas Factory team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140050 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Ignacio Casale (CHL) for TATRA BUGGYRA RACING races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140052 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Airat Mardeev (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140053 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cyril Despres (FRA) for Abu Dhabi Racing Team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140054 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cristina Gutierrez Herrero (ESP) for RedBull off-road team USA races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140056 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stefan Svitko (SVK) fot Slovnaft Rally Team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140057 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Camille Chapeliere (FRA) for Team Baines Rally races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140058 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) for South Racing Can-Am team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140060 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Jakub Przygonski (POL) for Orlen Team Overdrive races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140061 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140062 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Anton Shibalov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140063 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Andrey Karginov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140066 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Seth Quintero (USA) for RedBull off-road team USA races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140068 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140070 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sam Sunderland (GBR) for Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 11 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Alula to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140071 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Landscape during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140085 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Daniel Sanders on his KTM Factory Team during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140086 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sam Sunderland of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140089 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Matthias Walkner of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140091 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel in the Toyota Hilux of the Toyota Gazoo Racing during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140094 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in the Mini Buggy of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140108 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stephane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger in the Mini Buggy of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team during the 11th stage of the Dakar 2021 between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101140112 // Usage for editorial use only //