History was made at the 46th Dakar Rally when the Ultimate class was won for the first-time ever by a car equipped with electric drivetrains. Carlos Sainz’s futuristic Audi RS Q e-tron beat all-comers over the 5,000km of perilous dunes, mountains and canyons in Saudi Arabia for the Dakar Rally.

While Sainz won a fourth Dakar title of his illustrious career there was also a popular first win in the Challenger class for one of the rally’s young guns.

Impressive Win

Spain’s original off-road superstar Carlos Sainz has struck glory again at the Dakar Rally. The Team Audi Sport driver has added a fourth Dakar title to his collection. El Matador has played a key role in the development of the Audi RS Q e-tron and its innovative combination of electric drivetrains and efficient energy converter. The 61-year-old and co-driver Lucas Cruz were in imperious form throughout the entire two weeks in Saudi Arabia, demonstrating an innate understanding of when to push for speed and when to switch the strategy.

“When you work hard and you believe in yourself, when you have a good team and good people around you, then the work will always pay off. This car is so special. I want to enjoy this victory and I will think about my future in the next weeks.” – Carlos Sainz

Taking the runner-up spot in the Ultimate class was Guillaume de Mévius in his Toyota Hilux Overdrive alongside co-driver Xavier Panseri at their first rally together.

It was a fifth podium finish at the Dakar for Sébastien Loeb as he and co-driver Fabian Lurquin’s Prodrive Hunter took third overall. You can be sure that the nine-time WRC winner will return to the Dakar as he chases one of the few off-road titles that still eludes him.

Tough Day For Toyota

It was a tough Dakar for reigning champions Toyota Gazoo Racing as their fleet of Toyota GR DKR Hilux cars all suffered at various points during the rally. Lucas Moraes had a podium place cruelly snatched away on the penultimate stage.

However, the biggest dose of drama on the 2024 Dakar Rally’s final stage was delivered in the Challenger race as the lead changed hands on the 175-kilometre loop around the Yanbu bivouac.

Cristina Gutiérrez started the day in second overall and 25 minutes off the lead, but after an historic turnaround she hit the front. At the podium ceremony in Yanbu tonight the Spaniard will celebrate becoming the first woman to win a Dakar title since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2001.

Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno never gave up hope in their Taurus T3 Max even when victory looked close to impossible.

Taking the third spot on the Challenger podium was Rokas Baciuška and co-driver
Oriol Vidal as they held off the threat from fellow Can-Am drivers Chaleco López and Austin Jones who had to settle for spots inside the Top 5.

Two-Wheel Glory

A brave defence of his Dakar title ended with a stage victory on the final day of this year’s rally for Kevin Benavides. The odds were always stacked against the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing biker since he broke a fibula bone last month. However, the Argentinian battled though the world’s toughest rally once again to record a fourth place finish.

“It was a really tough Dakar with really hard and really long stages. We were on the bike for so many hours each day.” – Kevin Benavides

Fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Toby Price also showed superhuman levels of determination to keep chasing eventual Bike race winner Ricky Brabec.

All finishers of the 2024 Dakar Rally will be honoured tonight at a podium ceremony in Yanbu. Once again the Dakar has proved to be the greatest challenge that motorsport has to offer as it plunged the convoy into a 5,000-kilometre battle through the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

(Images: Red Bull)