Five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah delivered an accomplished drive on the fifth stage of the famed event to keep Dacia in the hunt when all was appearing lost - only to be hit with a late time penalty.
After favourite Sebastian Loeb's exit on Tuesday, following on from Dacia team-mate Cristina Gutierrez earlier, Al-Attiyah plunged down the rankings on Wednesday as he lost 35 minutes due to issues he encountered on the marathon fourth stage.
With no room for mistakes or additional problems, the Qatari opted for an all-out attack, and it paid handsome dividends as he comfortably took the victory on the 492km stage from Alula to Hail by 10 minutes.
Al-Attiyah's celebrations were later cut short, however, when he was handed a penalty of 10 minutes for reaching the bivouac with a missing spare wheel. The victory, instead, went to Seth Quintaro by one second.
It means Al-Attiyah is 35 minutes adrift of overall leader, Toyota's Henk Lategan, who has extended his advantage over Yazeed Al Rajhi to just over 10 minutes.
Ford's Mattias Ekstrom managed to gain almost a minute on Lategan to retain his third position, whilst Al-Attiyah is fourth.
General classification after fifth stage (cars)
| # | Driver | Team | Time differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Henk Lategan | Toyota Gazoo | 28:10:11 |
| 2. | Yazeed Al Rajhi | Overdrive Racing | +10:17 |
| 3. | Mattias Ekstrom | Ford | +20:54 |
| 4. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Dacia Sandriders | +35:00 |
| 5. | Lucas Moraes | Toyota Gazoo | +41:55 |
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