Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit won the first stage of the Dakar car rally on Saturday, the favorites having slowed down to avoid starting in an unfavorable position in the “48 hours” that will follow. Driving a Mini seriously damaged in the race, the 46-year-old Frenchman completed the 413 km special around Bisha in 4h 35min 53sec and provisionally takes the lead in the general classification, 50 seconds ahead of American Seth Quintero (Toyota ). He also offers his team its first stage victory on the Dakar since 2021.
Nine-time world rally champion but having never yet managed to win in the Dakar, Frenchman Sébastien Loeb (Dacia) ranks 24th, 11 minutes behind the winner. “It was a problem-free stage for us, we didn't take any risks. The goal was not to set the best time so we stopped for a few minutes at the end to lose a little time and avoid having to open the road tomorrow“, declared the Alsatian to the press when he got out of the car.
The two other heavyweights of the rally-raid, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and the Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah, are in 7th and 20th positions respectively.
The Dakar competitors will be engaged on Sunday and Monday in the formidable “48h chrono”, a special of nearly 1,000km without assistance over two days. In these conditions, opening the road, as the leaders of the previous day's stage must do, could constitute a serious disadvantage.
Sanders does it again
Already winner the day before the prologue, Australian biker Daniel Sanders also won the first stage. The 30-year-old KTM rider, who aims to become the second Australian to win the Dakar on a motorcycle after Toby Price (2016 and 2018), took the lead in the special at kilometer 151 and managed to stay there, although than closely followed.
The winner of the last Morocco rally was ultimately timed at 4h 41min 27sec on the 413km special, leaving his pursuers Ricky Brabec, defending champion, and Ross Branch two minutes behind. Riding his Honda, Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren finished 8th, almost a quarter of an hour behind the leader.
“The second half was much better, once I got out of all that dust. The bike runs well, the body feels good“, declared Daniel Sanders upon his arrival in the bivouac. Tracing an 8,000km curve through Saudi Arabia, the famous rally-raid will find its outcome on January 17 in the desert dunes of the Empty Quarter, at the border with the United Arab Emirates.
