Veteran Spanish Audi driver Carlos Sainz, 61 years old, made history after writing his name as the oldest winner of the Dakar Rally title for the fourth time in his career.
The veteran driver won the Dakar Rally title with the end of the final twelfth stage on Friday in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, hosting the most famous desert rally for the fifth year in a row.
The "Matador", a former two-time World Rally Champion, added the title of the current edition to the 2010, 2018 and 2020 editions, and became the biggest winner in Dakar, noting that he had tightened his grip on the lead since the end of the sixth stage and had not given it up since then, and knew how to manage the gap with his closest pursuers, most notably the Frenchman Sebastien Loeb. (Prodrive), thanks to the help of his Swedish colleague Matthias Ekström and the other French “Mr. Dakar” Stephane Peterhansel.
Loeb's hopes, a nine-time World Rally Champion, of winning the title for the first time in his career were dashed in the eleventh stage after he was very late due to a mechanical problem, while his new colleague in the Qatari team, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, lost the bet to retain the title for the third year in a row, raising the number of his victories to six titles. Early due to a series of problems.
A coup accident involving Saudi Yazid Al Rajhi (Toyota) in the first section of the sixth stage in Shubaita also dashed his hopes of winning the organized rally title in his country.
Peterhansel's condition was not better, as he fell victim to a hydraulic failure that prevented him from operating the lever to change the tire, which deprived him of the assisted steering system, noting that he won the title 14 times (6 titles in the motorcycle category and 8 in the car category).
In the motorcycle category, American Ricky Brabec (Honda) won the title for the second time in his career, after 2020 when he was the first American to achieve this achievement.
Officially the former Liverpool star leaves the Saudi League
Former English Liverpool club captain, Jordan Henderson, announced today, Thursday, his departure from the Saudi Al-Ittifaq Football Club, only 6 months after his arrival, and joining the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam.
Henderson said, via the “X” platform: “I regret to say that I will leave the agreement with immediate effect. It was not an easy decision, but I feel it is best for me and my family.”
He added: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the club and the fans for all the support they gave me during my time.”
Henderson revealed his move to the ranks of Ajax Amsterdam, where he wrote: “Amsterdam! Very happy to be here. I can’t wait to see you all soon.”
The official account of Ajax Club indicated that Jordan Henderson's shirt is already the fastest selling shirt in the history of Ajax, even though it was launched a short time ago.
Jordan Henderson, 33 years old, joined the ranks of Al-Ittifaq Club in July 2023, in a transfer deal worth approximately $15 million, coming from Liverpool.
According to ESPN, Henderson's contract with the Saudi club was for 3 years.
While the "Transfermarkt" sports website indicated that Jordan Henderson participated in only 17 matches with Al-Ettifaq Club.