South African teenager becomes youngest top class driver to win a Dakar Rally stage

Nineteen-year-old Saood Variawa of South Africa became the youngest top-class driver to win a stage in the Dakar Rally on Tuesday.

The previous record was 22, set last Saturday by American Seth Quintero. Both are competing in the ultimate car category for only the second time.

Variawa and Quintero fought with Toyota teammate Lucas Moraes of Brazil for the lead in the 327-kilometer (203-mile) third stage from Bisha north to Al Henakiyah in the Saudi desert. They were within a minute of each other for at least 200 kilometers.

Moraes was the early pace-setter, Quintero took over in the second half but Variawa nosed ahead over the last 60 kilometers and shrugged off a late puncture.

“I definitely knew we were flying,” Variawa said. “There were a lot of places which could catch you out and end your race. We really took it quite easy in the stuff that was very tricky. François (Cazalet, co-driver) was good with the navigation and we were on point everywhere.”

Variawa was third after the first stage won by Quintero but a collision with countryman Giniel de Villiers on Monday cost him eight hours.

“This is a good comeback,” Variawa said.

Quintero ended up third on the stage and Moraes ninth.

Another South African, Henk Lategan, was 12th and held on to the overall lead.

But five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah made up four minutes to sit seven minutes back, and Mattias Ekstrom also closed the gap in third, 9 1/2 minutes behind. Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi dropped from second overall to fourth in part thanks to a four-minute penalty.

Defending champion Carlos Sainz was forced to withdraw in the morning. He landed on his roof on Sunday and finished the stage on Monday but the damage to the roll cage was too much to be allowed to continue. Sainz won his fourth Dakar title a year ago and at age 62 was competing in his 18th Dakar.

Another multiple world rally champion and title contender, Sebastien Loeb, was barely staying in the race.

He hit a rut early Tuesday and rolled his Dacia but was back driving within five minutes. But then he broke a steering rod, received a spare from a rival, and then his engine fan died which forced him to drive slower. He lost an hour and sat 16th overall.

“Winning the rally is starting to look complicated,” Loeb said.

Daniel Sanders' overall motorbike lead was also slashed. But not as bad as it first appeared.

After the stage the Australian was re-credited nearly five minutes for a faulty navigation program. Instead of finishing 22nd, he was 17th, and instead of being nearly 15 minutes off the pace, he was less than 10.

His overall lead of more than 12 minutes was reduced by Skyler Howes to less than seven minutes. Ross Branch was seven minutes back, and titleholder Ricky Brabec more than nine minutes back.

Lorenzo Santolino of Spain took the stage, the first winner for French brand Sherco in six years. Santolino mostly trailed South Africa's Bradley Cox, whose father Alfie won eight Dakar stages on a bike from 1998-2002.

But Santolino edged ahead over the last 50 kilometers when Cox took a wrong turn. Cox was also relegated from second to 14th after he was penalized six minutes for speeding.

Brabec and Howes were promoted to second and third.

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