Competing at home, Saleh Alsaif was the strongest in the eighth stage of Dakar 2024 in Challenger on Monday. The Saudi beat the leader of the classification, Mitchell Guthrie.
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It was a dominating performance by Alsaif (Dark Horse Team/GRally), who ended up being 3m22s faster than Guthrie (Taurus Factory Team). The third fastest time was by Cristina Gutiérrez (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA by BFG/Taurus), being 3m49s slower. Francisco López Contardo (Can-Am Factory Team) and Nicolas Cavigliasso (Taurus Factory Team) completed the top five.
In the overall classification, there are no major changes: Guthrie remains at the top, now with a 34m03s lead over Gutiérrez, while Contardo is third at 42m51s. Rokas Baciuska (Can-Am Factory Team), in fourth, is already nearly an hour and a half behind the leader, with Austin Jones (Can-Am Factory Team) being the fifth classified. Ricardo Porém (MMP/BRP) remains in sixth place, after another top ten finish with the eighth fastest time of the stage.
Top ten of Stage 8:
![](https://automagazine.pt/wp-content/uploads/Top10-Challenger-Stage-8-Dakar24.jpg)
Top ten overall:
![](https://automagazine.pt/wp-content/uploads/Top10-geral-Challenger-Stage-8-Dakar24.jpg)