The Dakar is an unforgiving race. Although all the competitors have this doctrine in mind, the largest rally-raid in the world is unforgiving, including among desert regulars and event specialists.
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For this first part of the 48-hour stage which includes 967 kilometers spread over the days of Sunday and Monday, Carlos Sainz and Sébastien Loeb may have already seen their hopes of victory evaporate.
Title holder, the Spanish driver rolled over with his Ford Raptor. Helped by a teammate to put the American car back on its wheels, Sainz finds himself this evening almost an hour behind the lead of the race. In addition, he will not be able to benefit from the help of his assistance during the night to repair his mount.
Even if it is less salty, the bill is still steep for Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin. Tanked in the dunes at the start of the special, the Dacia Sandrider of the Franco-Belgian duo then encountered the failure of its three fans, creating overheating in the engine. Loeb loses more than half an hour in the affair.
Because up front, the pace was steady. On the evening of this half of the stage, it is the Toyota of the duo Yazeed Al Rajhi / Timo Gottschalk which is in the lead, a little more than a minute in front of the Dacia of Nasser Al-Attiyah / Edouard Boulanger. The latter are for the moment spared from reliability problems. The Toyota and the Dacia are just under nine minutes ahead of the Ford of Mattias Ekström / Emil Bergkvist, placing three different manufacturers in the first three places.
The 48 hours will continue and end tomorrow with, without a doubt, new surprises, good or bad, awaiting the competitors.
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