Dakar 2018, Stage 1: Al-Attiyah quickest, Loeb in brake trouble
Two-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has topped the opening stage of the 2018 event, as Sebastien Loeb struggled with an early brake problem.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Al-Attiyah completed the timed section of the Lima-Pisco test in 21m51s in his four-wheel-drive Hilux car, and will thus open the road during the first proper marathon run of the event on Sunday.
Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Bernhard ten Brinke clocked in as his nearest rival, 25 seconds off the pace.
Their trouble-free start to the event was in stark contrast to Loeb's, the nine-time WRC champion ending up almost six minutes slower after his Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi developed a brake issue in the opening kilometres.
The Saturday stage, first of the five that comprise the Peruvian leg of the rally, was made up of a 242km road section between the ceremonial start in the capital and Pisco, and a 31km timed special traversing sand dunes around the latter.
Local hero Nicholas Fuchs, a WRC2 event winner, made up the top three in Stuttgart manufacturer Borgward's BX7 car.
Rookie Bryce Menzies led the way for X-raid Mini's all-new two-wheel-drive buggy, finishing four seconds behind Fuchs.
The two other Mini buggies in the field finished eighth and 13th, in the hands of Mikko Hirvonen and Yazeed Al-Rajhi respectively.
Former champion Nani Roma, who returned to the X-raid fold after a one-off Dakar appearance with Toyota, was the best of Mini's four-wheel-drive John Cooper Works Rally cars in fifth.
He was only a second quicker than Toyota's Giniel de Villiers, both slotting in within a minute of stage leader Al-Attiyah.
Loeb's issue aside, Peugeot had a muted showing in the opening stage, as all four of its factory entrants missed the top 10.
Reigning champion Stephane Peterhansel, having opened the road, led the way for the manufacturer, finishing two minutes behind Al-Attiyah and just a few seconds up on squadmates Cyril Despres and Carlos Sainz.
Watch highlights from Day 1...
Loprais tops trucks opener
Tatra's Ales Loprais set the pace within the truck category, completing the 31km stage with a time of 25m15s.
He was 22 seconds quicker than the Renault truck of nearest rival Martin van den Brink, and 29 seconds clear of top Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev. The rest of the Russian marque's entrants slotted into the top eight.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for the De Rooy Iveco team, with Ton van Genugten finishing fourth but teammate Federico Villagra losing almost 17 minutes.
Standings after Stage 1 (top 10):
Pos. | Driver / Co-driver | Car | Time/Gap |
1 |
Nasser Al-Attiyah Matthieu Baumel |
Toyota | 21m51s |
2 |
Bernhard ten Brinke Michel Perin |
Toyota | +25s |
3 |
Nicolas Fuchs Fernando Mussano |
Borgward | +34s |
4 |
Bryce Menzies Peter Mortensen |
Mini | +38s |
5 |
Nani Roma Alex Haro |
Mini | +53s |
6 |
Giniel de Villiers Dirk von Zitzewitz |
Toyota | +54s |
7 |
Lucio Alvarez Robert Howie |
Toyota | +1m12s |
8 |
Mikko Hirvonen Andras Schulz |
Mini | +1m36s |
9 |
Jakub Przygonski Tom Colsoul |
Mini | +1m45s |
10 |
Martin Prokop Jan Tomanek |
Ford | +2m4s |
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