Toyota driver blows away Dakar competition with dominant display

Henk Lategan delivered a masterclass performance on the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally.

The Toyota driver was untouchable from the second waypoint onwards, building an insurmountable advantage over his rivals.

Lategan demolished the competition with a margin exceeding seven minutes over second-placed Nasser Al-Attiyah, while third-placed Marek Goczal trailed by nearly 15 minutes.

Lategan's display has completely reshaped the general classification, which had been led by Ford's Mitch Guthrie going into the stage, only for the American to suffer a catastrophic day and lose 44 minutes.

Lategan goes into the second part of the marathon stage on Thursday with a healthy seven-minute lead over Dacia driver Al-Attiyah.

Ford, which had locked out the top five places in the classification after stage three, is now spearheaded by Mattias Ekström, who is 13 minutes adrift in third, whilst veteran Carlos Sainz is fourth, almost three minutes further back.

Defending champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi, meanwhile, is out of the event due to his Toyota suffering a technical difficulty that he and co-driver Timo Gottschalk were unable to repair.

Marathon stage rules prevent any outside assistance from mechanics, either on the stage itself or overnight, going into Thursday's stage five.

Whilst Al-Rajhi's retirement represents a significant blow for Toyota, Lategan's commanding performance demonstrates the manufacturer's underlying pace advantage when reliability holds firm.

View the general classification below!