Al-Attiyah starts strong, Loeb takes his time

As usual, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) likes to apply his favorite strategy: ride as fast as possible without asking any questions. The Qatari did well, because he won the first stage of the 2019 Dakar, contested Monday January 7 between Lima and Pisco (Peru) with his co-pilot Mathieu Baumel.

The double winner of rally-raid (in 2011 and 2015) ahead of two representatives of the X-Raid team, the defending champion Carlos Sainz (Mini Buggy) of 1'59'' and the winner of the Off-Road Rally World Cup Jakub Przygonski (Mini 4×4) of 2’. 

“It was a short start, but quite difficult, explains the runner-up of the 2018 edition. We attacked over ten kilometers to catch up with Carlos and try to overtake him… Whether we won or not, it's a good day. The car and tires are doing great. We will now see what happens next. »

Unlike Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz preferred to ride quietly in the Peruvian dunes so as not to have to clear the way on Tuesday for Stage 2. The Spanish duo will thus benefit from the traces left by the leaders' Toyota Hilux, which will allow them to better find their way.

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) will open the track tomorrow after his overwhelming victory on the first car stage of this Dakar 2019! Sebastian Loeb already lost more than 6 minutes! # Dakar2019 pic.twitter.com/9DTnMznmjW

- France tv sport (@francetvsport) January 7, 2019

The (relative) disappointment of the day is for Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot ). The nine-time world rally champion concedes more than 6' on Nasser Al-Attiyah with the 13th time, a cautious start for the Alsatian. It is in this Peruvian desert that his 2018 Dakar suddenly ended in a crash.

Stéphane Peterhansel, who plunges back into the Dakar this time in the company of David Castera (Mini), suffered a slow puncture. The Frenchman lost a few minutes (7th at 2'57''), but nothing to worry him because he initially wanted to copy Carlos Sainz's waiting tactic. The other resident of the X-Raid team, Cyril Despres, completes the top 10 with a disbursement of 4'25''.

The Przygonski-Vasiliev (Mini)-Al Rajhi (Mini) trio finished in that order in the top 5. That's good, it's in this formation that they concluded the 2018 Cross-Country Rally World Cup season !

However, the race starts very badly for Martin Prokop (Ford). The Czech lost a good twenty minutes but reached the finish in one piece. The returning Robby Gordon (Textron) loses 8' but is not in the same category as the big names.

Ranking Top 10 Dakar 2019 Stage 1: