Sainz beats Loeb in Dakar's battle of the titans using experimental Audi

“Carlos won the rally because he was just consistent, doing a good job everyday,” said Loeb. “We won a lot of stages but had many troubles. Not only the car [but also] the punctures, everything – so at the end, he’s winning.”

Prodrive had gone for a bottom heavy approach to this year’s Dakar. Loeb and five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah were the works drivers, supported by five privateer entrants.

“Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah in one team – that takes away all the excuses, doesn’t it?” said Prodrive boss David Richards prophetically prior to the event.

Yet another veteran, 61-year-old Sainz, a double WRC champion going up against the nine-time world rally king, started the rally as he meant to go on with a solid second place on the first stage.

Winning the Stage 1 test was Toyota privateer Guilleme de Mevius, one of several drivers who demonstrated throughout the event that perhaps all you need to succeed at the world’s toughest rally is a Toyota pick-up truck.

Five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah had abandoned his works Hilux for 2024 to become Loeb’s team-mate at Prodrive. The Qatari driver showed decent pace early on and won Stage 5 this year for Prodrive, but just one Etape later it was all over.

A rather heavy landing on Stage 6 did for his Hunter’s suspension, the almost three-hour delay leaving him out of the running in the general classification.

“The idea is to help Seb [Loeb] to win the Dakar,” he said afterwards. “I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.”

This plan was then apparently changed when engine failure on Stage 8 and a steering issue on Stage 9 prompted him to formally withdraw from the rally.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to get back in this car,” said Al-Attiyah, seeming to have briefly forgotten he’s signed to drive its Dacia-branded evolution next year.

“You know, I’ve made up my mind, I just came to say thank you, and I’m going home tonight.

“This year, for the Dakar, I learned something, you know, in my life, and this will never happen again.”

With the rest of the paddock on tenterhooks to find out just what exactly Al-Attiyah had learnt, Loeb was left alone in the chase against the Audis, it eventually boiling down to a mouthwatering fight between him and Sainz.

Similar to previous years, the Frenchman set a searing pace to win six stages, but when he twisted a suspension arm on Stage 11, Loeb was left to wait hours for until one of the straggler Prodrive privateers turned up to help.

In contrast, Audi had two high-speed service cars running in the form of Stéphane ‘Mr Dakar’ Peterhansel and multiple stage-winner Mattias Ekström, able to come to Sainz’s aid whenever punctures or the like struck.

“At the end we didn’t have any chance against Team Audi,” Loeb bemoaned. “They were driving together. They had two cars helping Carlos. He was safe, he had three punctures yesterday.

“I couldn’t have three punctures because I would stay [stuck] in the stage. So yeah. Fighting alone against a complete team like Audi is difficult.”

The implication was that Al-Attiyah should have been around to lend a hand. Pressed upon this, Loeb said:

“Nasser is doing what he wants at the end. It’s not a decision we made to let him go.”

As it was, El Matador took a delighted win, with Audi not holding back in the self-proclaimed plaudits.

“Audi has once again set a milestone in motor sport,” beamed Gernot Döllner. “Winning the world’s toughest desert rally with an electrified drive is a visible ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ and points the way to our electric future.”

“This car is so special, it’s so difficult to manage, it has been so difficult to make it work,” said Sainz. “To finish and to win this race, well, I’m so happy for Audi.

“I think the energy comes from the passion I have. To be here at my age and to stay at the level, you need to work a lot beforehand. It doesn’t just come like that. At the moment, I want to enjoy this victory and I will think about my future in the next weeks. We will see what happens in the future.”

Reaching the summit of one of motor sport’s most vertiginous peaks in just three years (admittedly utilising the help of a huge budget) with an alternative powertrain is extremely commendable whatever the circumstances.

More history is made at Dakar 2024

There were more historic happenings further down the categories.

Cristina Gutierrez became the first woman to win a Dakar category since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2001, after starting the final stage of the SSV buggy category 25 minutes behind leader Mitch Guthrie. The American suffered mechanical issues though, and the win went to the part-time off-road racer, part-time dentist Gutierrez.

“When I got to the finish, I didn’t know what had happened, but I’m very glad and proud of the team and happy with the car,” she said.

“For sure, I’m very happy. I have a special thought for all my family, all the kids in the hospital in Burgos [her hometown] because when I compete they’re always with me, as well as Carles Falcon.”

Falcon’s tragic death, after a serious crash on his bike on the second stage, illustrated the danger which still surrounds Dakar.

The bike category was won by American Ricky Brabec, with Britain’s main hope Sam Sunderland forced out on Stage 3 with mechanical issues.

Martin Macik Jr, driving an Iveco Powerstar, claimed the spoils in the Trucks category, while the top Quad rider was Manuel Andújar, taking a second Dakar win following his 2021 triumph.