The 2021 Dakar starts with Sainz leading
The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz crossed stage 1 of the Dakar Rally in first position and is now at the top of the standings. After the puncture in the first kilometer of the prologue stage, the Spaniard could not react to the good stage of Al-Attiyah, but already on the second day, his Mini was the fastest.
The Spaniard beat Peterhansel by 25 seconds in the first stage, of 277 kilometers of special and 345 of link between the towns of Yeda and Bisha, and leads the general of this Dakar 2021 with eight seconds advantage over the Frenchman.
Sainz, who started twenty-eighth after his puncture in the prologue on Saturday, knew how to overcome with his co-pilot Lucas Cruz in the last stretch, which began quite far from his teammate in the X-Raid Mini JCW Team, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, in fact, was again the victim of another puncture in the first section, and not even that prevented him from leading the special stage.
At kilometer 222, he lost the lead, but a final push allowed him to finish the stage in 3:05:56, 25 seconds ahead of 'Monsieur Dakar', who he now leads by 8 seconds overall. Czech Martin Prokop (Benzina) was third of the day at 3:18, and also closes the podium of the provisional general classification (2:59).
On the other hand, the three-time raid champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), winner of the prologue stage, left 12 minutes behind Sainz, so he will have to come back in Monday's 457-kilometer stage between Bisha and Wadi Ad Dawasir. Nani Roma (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), meanwhile, was eighth at 9:39 from his compatriot.
New edition in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is hosting the 43rd edition of the Dakar for the second year running. This edition aims to be one of the toughest and most demanding. This year the rally will have the participation of 286 contenders admitted in the different categories of motorbikes, quads, cars, light vehicles and trucks.
This event will take place from the 2nd to the 15th of January, from the city of Jeddah, where this long-awaited rally started yesterday, which was in the air until the last moment, as a result of the closure of the Saudi Arabian borders after the high rate of contagion.
The pandemic has also marked the development of the event. During the rally a strict bubble has been established, in which PCR will be carried out, there will be no guests or unauthorised outsiders in the bivouac, it will not be allowed to go to hotels or restaurants outside, and it will be obligatory to avoid all social interaction in the transfers from bivouac to bivouac. There will be a mobile test laboratory in the camp, an anti-Covid team (made up of ASO staff) will be designated to "control the respect of barrier gestures" (mask, distance, hands). In case of non-compliance, ASO reserves the right to call to order or to exclude the offender.
COVID-19 has also led to a drop in participation. The number of participants has fallen by 11.3%, i.e. 65 participants and 48 vehicles less than in 2020. In terms of nationalities, there are representatives from 49 countries, including 16 women in the race (3 in Dakar Classic).
The Dakar started yesterday with a preliminary stage of 11 kilometres. This year the rally will consist of 12 stages and will cover a total of 7,646 kilometres, of which 4,767 will be timed specials.