Defending champion Carlos Sainz took the lead in the Dakar Rally car category after winning yesterday’s first stage in the Saudi Arabian desert, even as overnight leader Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah was unsurprised by his 10th place finish and looked forward to today’s 457km second special stage.
Qatari star al-Attiyah, who won Saturday’s short prologue for the factory Toyota team, dropped back to 10th and nearly 12 minutes off the lead. “We decided to win the prologue, and we expected to lose time opening the road today. Tomorrow’s stage is what really matters,” said the three-time Dakar champion, who is partnered by Frenchman Matthieu Baumel.
Spaniard Sainz was 25 seconds clear of Mini teammate Stephane Peterhansel — the Frenchman who has won a record 13 times on two wheels and four — overall after the 277-km timed stage from the port city of Jeddah to Bisha.
Sainz, a triple Dakar winner whose son and namesake is a Ferrari Formula One driver, had started 28th after a puncture in the prologue but came back aggressively in his X-Raid Mini JCW buggy.
“We had a puncture and a problem with the roadbook made us lose four minutes. Happy with the P1 and with the lead tomorrow,” the 58-year-old said on Twitter. ‘Mr Dakar’ Peterhansel lost time with a puncture in the last 50km.
Nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb had a difficult day, the Frenchman suffering three punctures and dropping nearly 24 minutes behind for the Raid Xtreme team.
“I’ve rarely had such a terrible stage,” the Frenchman lamented, after three punctures.
In the bikes category, Australian two-times champion Toby Price was 23 seconds clear of Argentina’s Kevin Benavides overall while American 2020 champion Ricky Brabec lost his way and ended up 17 minutes adrift.
“Today quite difficult with the navigation. I got lost a little bit about seven km from the finish,” said KTM rider Price. “I took a little bit of time just trying to get back on track here.”
The Dakar, one of motorsport’s most dangerous and gruelling events, is being held entirely in Saudi Arabia for the second time, with competitors in a protective bubble after testing negative for Covid-19. The rally ends in Jeddah on January 15.


STAGE 1 RESULTS
Car
1. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (ESP/ESP/Mini) 3:05:56
2. Stephane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger (FRA/FRA/Mini) +00:00:25
3. Martin Prokop/Viktor Chytka (CZE/CZE/Ford) +00:03:18
4. Mathieu Serradori/Fabian Lurquin (FRA/BEL/Century) +00:06:33
5. Yasir Seaidan/Alexey Kuzmich (KSA/RUS/Century) +00:08:10
6. Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi/Xavier Panseri (UAE/FRA/Peugeot) +00:08:13
7. Giniel De Villiers/Alex Haro Bravo (RSA/ESP/Toyota) +00:08:59
8. Nani Roma/Alexandre Winocq (ESP/FRA/Brx) +00:09:39
9. Jakub Przygonski/Timo Goettschalk (POL/GER/Toyota) +00:09:46
10. Nasser al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Toyota) +00:12:34


Bike
1. Toby Price (AUS/Ktm) 3:18:26
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG/Honda) +00:00:31
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT/Ktm) +00:00:32
4. Sam Sunderland (GBR/Ktm) +00:02:03
5. Lorenzo Santolino (ESP/Sherco Factory) +00:04:23
6. Xavier De Soultrait (FRA/Husqvarna) +00:04:35
7. Franco Caimi (ARG/Yamaha) +00:04:48
8. Skyler Howes (USA/Ktm) +00:05:25
9. Luciano Benavides (ARG/Husqvarna) +00:07:37
10. Martin Michek (CZE/Ktm) +00:08:10