Fernando Alonso recorded his best stage finish so far in the Dakar Rally on Monday with second place, four minutes off day victor Mathieu Serradori.
Alonso clawed his way back up the order with a number of solid finishes in the following days, but hit a new height on Monday as he managed to take P2 on the 477 km stage at Wadi ad-Dawasir.
Second-placed Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel took four minutes out of Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz’s lead, placing 11th, but remain 6m40s off the front.
All motorbike and quad racing was cancelled on Monday following the death of Paulo Gonçalves on Stage 7.
