Dakar boss slams critisism from Sainz and Loeb: 'Just made too many mistakes'

Some prominent figures from the world of rallying stood at the finish line of a stage in the Dakar Rally several times last week. Both Carlos Sainz and Sebastien Loeb lost their way a number of times.

In their view, this was not the fault of their navigators, but of the new rules on the road book. As of this year, it will be handed over to the navigators only 15 minutes before the start of the test, so they will not have time to make their own notes. Also, the roadbook now contains more information on a single page.

Sainz does so many u-turns that it makes him dizzy

As a result, Sainz lost his way so often that he felt more like he was doing a gymkhana event. Loeb thinks that as a driver he can't make the difference anymore. According to David Castera, the boss of the rally, this is really their own fault.

"Maybe the philosophy of the roadbook has changed, and this may have needed some adaptation, but it is not true that we make things difficult on purpose", Castera is quoted by Autosport.com. "Carlos [Sainz] did too many navigation mistakes, otherwise he would be fighting with Al-Attiyah and Peterhansel," Castera said