WADI AL-DAWASIR: Saood Variawa won the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally in a South African one-two with Henk Lategan on Monday as Nasser Al-Attiyah saw his overall lead cut to four minutes in the Saudi desert.
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Dacia Sandriders driver Al-Attiyah finished fifth and one minute and 16 seconds behind 20-year-old Toyota SA driver Variawa, who beat factory entry Lategan by three seconds on the 483km loop around the southern city of Wadi Al-Dawasir.
The Qatari’s closest rival Mattias Ekstrom was third for Ford in the longest stage of the 48th edition of the rally.
Last year’s Dakar runner-up Lategan moved up to third overall, six minutes and eight seconds off the lead with five stages remaining before Saturday’s finish in the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
