Dakar 2023, Stage 1 – Sainz launches the big attack, Loeb in his wake

“El Matador” is one hell of a lunatic. Carlos Sainz (Audi), which does not fail to rail against the sporting regulations and the more difficult navigation decided by the management of the Dakar Rally since 2020, remains a fine trigger of the rally-raid. The Spaniard demonstrates it for the 42nd time on this rally-raid with the best time of the first stage, this Sunday January 1 around the Sea Camp near the Red Sea.

The three-time winner of the competition did not have an easy time. At km 32 of a stage counting 367, the Madrilenian's hybrid Audi RS Q e-tron suffered a puncture. Without giving in to panic, the driver, assisted by his navigator Lucas Cruz, changed the defective wheel in a couple of minutes, before leaving with the knife between his teeth.

The incisive driving of the double world rally champion bore fruit, as he overtook his teammate Mattias Ekström at the very end of the course. The Swede, leader of the Dakar 2023 on the evening of the prologue the day before, led the debates for a long time, but a brief passage in the Saudi dunes got the better of his leadership.

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Behind, Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) had an uneventful day. The Franco-Belgian tandem, already second in the prologue, does it again this New Year's Day. The 4x4 built by Prodrive battled with Ekström's gray Audi throughout the stage, but was unable to contain the return of Carlos Sainz.

Winner of the competition for the most beautiful helmet on Saturday evening, Guerlain Chicherit (GCK) confirms the hopes placed in him. The winner of the 2022 Rally of Morocco takes the third time, less than a minute behind Sainz alongside Alex Winocq.

Thrown behind outsiders Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota) and Orlando Terranova (BRX), the title holders Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) struggled in the middle of the virtual top 10, until losing ground in the final stretch. The rally raid world champions lost 7 minutes.

The bill is a little higher for other experts in the discipline, Stéphane Peterhansel and Édouard Boulanger (Audi). The French, winners in 2021, gave up almost 9 minutes.

In the general classification, the gaps remain slim, which was not the case after the first stage in 2021 and 2022. In fact, Sainz-Cruz only has a 10-second margin over Loeb-Lurquin, and 33 seconds over Ekström-Bergkvist. Al-Attiyah-Baumel are 7 minutes away and Peterhansel-Boulanger are flirting with a 9-minute disadvantage.

The second stage of the Dakar 2023 will take the caravan from Sea Camp to AlUla over 430 km.

Dakar 2023 – Ranking Stage 1:

General classification :