'Tough day' for Al Attiyah as South Africa's Lategan wins Stage 8

Riyadh: South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage as Qatar s...

Riyadh: South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage as   Qatar’s five-time champion Nasser Al Attiyah finished in 11th place yesterday.

The 30-year-old, in his fourth Dakar outing, covered the 487km special between Al Duwadimi and Riyadh in 4hr 51min 54sec.

Lategan, who also won the January 3 prologue, extended his lead over home hope Yazeed Al Rajhi to 5min 41sec in the general classification.

Despite a two-minute penalty for speeding on the stage, Lategan finished the day’s driving 1min 47sec ahead of compatriot Guy Botterill, also in a Toyota.

“There was one canyon where everybody was getting lost,” said Lategan.