Toyota enjoyed a dominant day in the Dakar Rally as rivals Dacia again faltered.
Dacia was already licking its wounds following the third stage in which favourite Sebastien Loeb was removed from the rally by the FIA following a crash in which his car's safety cage was damaged, preventing him from continuing.
Although Dacia protested, for now, Loeb has been unable to restart. He may return after Friday's rest day.
Going into a marathon fourth stage, all participants were aware they could not count on assistance from their mechanics, meaning that reaching the finish line without any problems was key.
However, that didn't work out for Nasser Al-Attiyah, Dacia's last hope as the five-time Dakar winner ran into problems, costing him 35 minutes, and sending him plunging down the standings.
Dacia must, therefore, hope for a miracle to win the rally, particularly with Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez no longer in the running for honours.
Al-Attiyah's issues allowed Toyota to take full advantage. Yazeed Al Rajhi very dominantly took the win, ahead of class leader Henk Lategan and team-mate Juan Cruz Yacopini, allowing the Japanese brand to claim all the podium places.
Lategan now holds a lead of almost seven minutes over Al Rajhi, while Mattias Ekstrom is third for Ford.
View the general classification below!
General classification after fourth stage (cars)
| # | Driver | Team | Time differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Henk Lategan | Toyota Gazoo | 23:36:24 |
| 2. | Yazeed Al Rajhi | Overdrive Racing | +6:54 |
| 3. | Mattias Ekstrom | Ford | +21:40 |
| 4. | Mathieu Serradori | Century | +30:25 |
| 5. | Lucas Moraes | Toyota Gazoo | +33:25 |
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