the Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit declared winner then finally second, Adrien Van Beveren lost time on the motorbike… What to remember from the first stage

The Frenchman was declared the winner before finally being overtaken by Seth Quintero during the first stage on Saturday. Sébastien Loeb lost time and fell eleven minutes late.

Dusty day on the Dakar for the first stage of the 2025 edition with a start and finish in Bisha (Saudi Arabia). The day after the prologue, electronic problems on the navigation tablets and bushes also played tricks on the drivers over the 413 km of special, before the formidable second stage in 48 hours flat without assistance on Sunday and Monday, with 967 kilometers to go .

Auto: Chicherit finally second behind Quintero

An emotional elevator. Starting in 30th position on Saturday morning, Guerlain Chicherit and his French co-driver Alex Winocq (X-Raid Mini) thought they had been the fastest, to the point of winning the stage in four hours, 35 minutes and 53 seconds, or 50 seconds less than the second places, Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz (Toyota Gazoo Racing).

But almost two hours after proclaiming the Frenchman's victory, the Dakar organization announced that it would finally award first place to Seth Quintero. “The American stopped at kilometer 330 for an accident. He recovered 95 seconds, which put him ahead of Guerlain Chicherit and he won the stage”declared the organizers.

Sébastien Loeb (Dacia Sandriders) finished 24th in the stage, more than 11 minutes behind the winners, but assured that he had lost time, like other favorites, so as not to start in the first positions for stage 2. “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 (Ford M-Sport) and the Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders), are in 7th and 20th positions respectively.

Moto: Daniel Sanders s'impose, Adrien Van Beveren during the 15 minutes

Winner of the prologue on Friday, Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM) also won the first stage. The Australian won with just over two minutes ahead of Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) and Ross Branch (Hero Motorsports).

Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda) had a complicated day for his birthday, as he missed a turn due to dust and fell over a bush after 15 kilometers of special. He loses almost fifteen minutes.