Stéphane Peterhansel of the Mini X-Raid team claimed the top spot on Stage 4 of Dakar 2020, representing his 77th stage victory. This makes him one of two drivers (the other being South Africa's Giniel de Villiers) to claim a stage win on three different continents.

This stage took drivers from Neom to the ancient city of Al-‘Ula, featuring high altitudes and rocky terrains along the way. Peterhansel’s victory took him to third place in the overall standings. Mini’s Carlos Sainz and Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah still hold first and second place respectively thanks to consistent performances.

Yazeed Al Rajhi continues to impress in his Overdrive Toyota Hilux as he claimed fourth spot on the stage, maintaining the same position in the overall standings. De Villiers, meanwhile, finds himself in seventh overall thanks a sixth-place finish on this stage (this despite suffering three punctures, two of which occurred within 100 m).

Fernando Alonso placed 13th but enjoyed a jump in the overall standings from 32nd to 20th. Stage 1 winner Vaidotas Zala dropped out of the top 10 (to 12th) after finishing 21st on this stage.

Stage 4 results:

1. Peterhansel (Mini)
2. Al-Attiyah (Toyota): +02:26
3. Sainz (Mini): +07:18
4. Al Rajhi (Toyota): +11:30
5. Serradori (SRT):  +13:17
6. De Villiers (Toyota): +18:16
7. Ten Brinke (Toyota): +18:35
8. Przygonski (Mini): +19:23
9. Han (Geely): +19:58
10. Terranova (Mini): +22:22

Overall standings:

1. Sainz (Mini)
2. Al-Attiyah (Toyota): +03:03
3. Peterhansel (Mini): +11:42
4. Al Rajhi (Toyota): +23:10
5. Terranova (Mini): +23:13
6. Serradori (SRT): +26:55
7. De Villiers (Toyota): +34:40
8. Ten Brinke (Toyota): +44:40
9. Prokop (Ford): +01:09:41
10. Seaidan (Mini): +01:30:25

Original article from Car