The World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) returned in force to Argentina for the third round of the season, taking place on the legendary land that hosted the Dakar Rally between 2009 and 2019. For Dacia Sandriders, the debut in this legendary competition was a real emotional and technical roller coaster. With a stellar line-up of drivers – Sébastien Loeb, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Lucas Moraes – the Romanian team went from a black Sunday of survival to absolute triumph on the Argentine route in just 48 hours.
The first special stage, a 340-kilometer loop starting and finishing in San Juan, proved to be a brutal test of endurance. The dense vegetation and hidden traps on the route caused all three Dacia crews to suffer massive tire damage, turning the debut into a rescue mission.
Sébastien Loeb, saved by colleague Al-Attiyah
World leader Sébastien Loeb (seconded by Édouard Boulanger) led the way, an extremely thankless position due to the reduced visibility of the motorcycle tracks. The Frenchman suffered no less than three punctures. Left without a spare wheel, Loeb was saved by the team spirit of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who offered him a tyre on the route. Loeb finished the race in a disappointing 9th place, a long way behind the stage winner, Eryk Goczal.
“The day was complicated. Being the first on the route, the dense vegetation made it difficult to follow the tracks of the bikes. We did our best, but we had a slow puncture quite early on... Then we had another puncture, and with 50 kilometers to go we had a third. Luckily for us, Nasser wasn’t too far behind and stopped to give us a wheel, so thanks to him.” – Sébastien Loeb
Nasser Al-Attiyah was the fastest Dacia driver on the first day, finishing in 8th place, but his run was also fragmented by a puncture and a navigation error that cost him two minutes.
On the other hand, the reigning world champion, Lucas Moraes, experienced a similar scenario. After an excellent start in the top 3, two consecutive pit stops and major orientation problems threw the Brazilian straight into 15th place.
If the first day was about survival, the second special stage – a shorter, 128-kilometer timed section between San Juan and Mendoza – marked a spectacular comeback for the Dacia Sandriders team.
Qatari force strikes again
Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin controlled the stage with authority. The Qatari driver attacked decisively but calculatedly, managing to take the stage victory and 5 extremely important points in the championship economy. This performance propelled Al-Attiyah from 8th place straight to 5th place in the general classification, blowing the new rally leader, Joao Ferreira (Toyota), in the back of his head.
“It was a short but very difficult stage, where it was easy to lose everything. However, we had a good pace from start to finish. We decided to push without taking any risks and we won the stage, which is very good... We are trying to catch up with the leaders, but it looks like a difficult race for everyone.” – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Sébastien Loeb took a very cerebral approach in stage two. Without any technical problems, the Frenchman finished 9th again, but with a tactical explanation: he voluntarily stopped for a minute on the route to secure a starting position further back the following day, thus avoiding the role of road sweeper.
Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz also had an excellent day, finishing the event in 5th place, a performance that jumps them from 15th to 12th place overall.
| Pilot / Co-driver | Stage 1 Position | Stage 2 Position | Overall Standings Position |
| Nasser Al-Attiyah / Fabian Lurquin | 8th Place | 1st Place | 5th Place |
| Sébastien Loeb / Edouard Boulanger | 9th Place | 9th Place | Strategic position |
| Lucas Moraes / Dennis Zenz | 15th Place | 5th Place | 12th Place |
The calm after the victory will be short-lived for Dacia Sandriders. The next challenge is the longest and most demanding special stage of the entire rally: a mammoth 408-kilometer timed section, starting and finishing in San Rafael.
With Al-Attiyah leading the way and Loeb lurking behind in an ideal attacking position, the team strategy and the endurance of the new Dacia cars will be tested to the max in what competitors are already calling "a mini Dakar".