ADDC, Stage 1 – Sébastien Loeb out of the running, Nasser Al-Attiyah rushes

Like a taste of déjà vu. The first stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2023, contested this Monday February 27 between Al Dhinnah and Qasr Al Sarab over 242 km, was marked by major mechanical problems for Sébastien Loeb-Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), exactly like in 2022.

This second round of the World Championship season rally-raid (W2RC) could have allowed the nine-time world champion WRC to aim for victory, but a serious problem with his 4×4 Hunter T1+ forced him to stop in the dunes. He is waiting for his assistance truck. He should be able to start again on Tuesday, but any chance of doing well in the general classification is gone.

His objective should be to string together stage victories in order to score points in the W2RC. On the 2023 Dakar, Loeb-Lurquin left as leaders despite several punctures and a 2nd final position.

i ️ AL ATTIYAH, MISTER GOOD DEAL | T1

🏆 @AlAttiyahN won the day's special stage in 3h 13m 36s. The Qatari increased his lead at the end of the stage with more than 6 minutes ahead of @YazeedRacing.

📸 ASO / DPPI Images / Bastien Roux# W2RC #ADDC #FIA pic.twitter.com/b85P8BgMr1

- World Rally-Raid Championship @ 🏍 (@ OfficialW2RC) February 27, 2023

The setbacks of the 2 W2022RC vice-champions are the business of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota). The benchmark tandem in rally-raid sets the scratch time and takes a slight lead at the head of the operations.

« It was a good stage, said the Qatari. We were able to attack without encountering the slightest problem. I'm not fully satisfied with the settings of my 4x4, I'm going to work on that this evening. »

“It’s a shame that Sébastien is in difficulty. I feel sorry for him, but on the other hand, it's a rally raid. »

At GCK Motorsport, Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq lost considerable time (more than 1h48 at km 193) due to dune sickness for the Savoyard driver. He had already felt ill during the second week of the Dakar last January; his problem does not seem to be resolved.

ALSO READ > W2RC – The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge towards a new Al-Attiyah-Loeb duel?

The provisional podium is completed by the Toyotas of Yazeed Al-Rajhi (2nd) and Henk Lategan (3rd). The South African finally benefits from an outing in W2RC to gain experience, having been confined to a single international event (the Dakar) since his move to the premier category in 2021.

In T3, the young American Seth Quintero (Can-Am) produced a good effort to reject his direct pursuer, Austin Jones (Can-Am) at 7'48''. Note that Jones had to stop to tow Cristina Gutiérrez (Can-Am), who ran out of fuel before refueling.

ADDC 2023 Ranking – Step 1: