We only had to wait one stage to witness the first sanctions of the Dakar 2025. This Saturday, January 4, at the end of the first special around Bisha (Saudi Arabia), several favorites for the final victory were caught in the act speeding. The Dakar imposes limited speed sectors on certain sections of the special, for example around the refueling zones.
On this stage, the Dacias of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb were penalized by 2 additional minutes in the general classification, as were the Toyotas of Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Toby Price. The four men drove more than 10 km/h above the maximum speed of 50 km/h.
The winner of the Dakar 2024, Carlos Sainz (Ford), as well as Guerlain Chicherit (Mini, 2nd in the stage) get away with a harmless penalty of 10 seconds because their speeding is minor (5 and 4 km/h ).
The most affected driver is Henk Lategan (Toyota). The winner of the Prologue went 77 km/h in the zone, or 27 km/h in violation! The South African receives a hefty addition of 10 minutes.
In the general classification, Carlos Sainz is relegated to 3'27'', while Nasser Al-Attiyah is 13'13'' behind, and Sébastien Loeb is at 14'16'' on the eve of the formidable 48H Chrono stage. As for Henk Lategan, he will start the 2nd stage with a time of 14'12''.
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