Prodrive/Bahrain driver Loeb faces a daunting 32m40s deficit to Al-Attiyah heading into the penultimate stage near Bisha on Thursday, leaving him with a very slim chance of adding a Dakar win to his nine titles in the World Rally Championship.
Loeb has been on the back foot ever since he dropped more than half an hour with a mechanical issue in Stage 3, with navigational issues three stages later leaving him 50 minutes adrift of Al-Attiyah at the halfway point of the rally.
While he has since clawed back some of the time with a run of strong performances, including a second stage victory on Sunday, time is running out for the 47-year-old to make significant inroads into Al-Attiyah’s advantage.
Loeb could only make up 1m35s on his rival in Wednesday’s 10th stage from Wadi Ad Dawasir and Bisha, as he ended up only fifth-fastest and two places behind Prodrive teammate Orlando Terranova.
With just 510km of competitive running left across the final two stages on Thursday and…
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