Al Attiyah first leader

Spread largely on a motorway under construction (!), today's special is very fast (120 km/h average), but includes a navigation trap, an important correction that the first ones will miss? De Villiers and Sainz, as well as Lavieille, make a mistake at this point, before turning around. Miller and Al Attiyah see them coming back and waste little time. At the end of the special, De Villiers hit a pit hard, and he finished slightly in slow motion, losing seven minutes off the best time.

Fifth overall, Christian Lavieille believes he is in his place, but the Russian Berkut, on an old Pajero MPR 10, is right on his heels. In two-wheel drive, the Basque Errandonea still leads, ahead of the German Kahle.

As for the other French crews, Philippe Gache stupidly lost around fifteen minutes: “ We went straight through a crossroads, and to go into reverse, because of the torque converter, we had to turn off the engine. However, the starter did not work immediately, due to a poor electrical connection. » As for the French Chavigny and Singery, on a Nissan-Dessoude, they were reported to have broken down, broken crankshaft.

Tomorrow Monday, the second stage will take the competitors to Kazakhstan, with a 548 km stage including two special stages (117 and 114 km). For the moment, the climate is ideal, with a clear blue sky and a very pleasant temperature, and the atmosphere in the caravan is good.