#300 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place leg / 1st place overall

"It was a quick ‘Dakar’ day that actually only started after a beautiful but incredibly long liaison stage. Today it was crucial not to suffer a puncture on the gravel stretches. We managed that. We’ve put another stage past us that ended successfully. It’s good to continue to lead but we’re only in Chile now, and that’s where the rally really gets going.”

#302 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q), 2nd place leg / 2nd place overall

"Today, opening the course as yesterday’s stage winner was no advantage. We’d planned to lose less than one minute today and that plan worked out. More important yet is the fact that a long desert leg is coming up tomorrow, which our team-mate Carlos Sainz will open. So we’ll be in the better position. In terms of the overall standings the situation is extremely close. The order at the top may change any day due to small mistakes or minor problems. The race remains thrilling. And I continue to be optimistic.”

#304 – Mark Miller (USA), 5th place leg / 10th place overall

"Flat out all day – that was the situation throughout today’s special. It was really hard to find the right way because motorcycle riders who had gotten lost were coming up from all sides. That always puts doubts in your mind. But my co-driver Ralph Pitchford did an outstanding job. At the end we caught Krzysztof Holowczyc who had apparently suffered a puncture. In his dust it was no longer possible to attack although we almost managed to overtake him once. On the whole, things were running well today. I wouldn’t mind if it continued this way for the next few days.”

#308 – Giniel de Villiers (ZA), 4th place leg / 4th place overall

"Today the right tactics consisted of restraint and attack at the right places. Even though we lost a bit of ground again I’m pleased with the result. In the next few days we’ll go into the depths of the Atacama Desert and thus into the heart of the ‘Dakar’. The tables may quickly turn there, including to our benefit. The navigation today wasn’t easy. ‘Well done’ to my co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz who did an outstanding job.