MOSCOW, Jan 14 – Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time world champion in classic rally, set a Dakar rally-raid record in a Prodrive car, winning the sixth stage of the marathon in a row in the off-road category.

Loeb on Saturday became the winner of the penultimate, 13th stage of the Dakar-2023, which takes place in Saudi Arabia, overcoming the special stage of 154 km in 2 hours 26 minutes 17 seconds. Qatari leader Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota, +5 minutes 28 seconds) was second, Sweden’s Mattias Ekström (Audi, +6.31) was third.

Previously, the record was held for three decades by the Finnish driver Ari Vatanen – as part of the Peugeot factory team, the four-time winner of the Dakar was able to win five stages in a row.

In total, Loeb won seven special stages at Dakar-2023. The last time Spaniard Carlos Sainz Sr. managed to do this was in 2011.