Dakar, Stage 1: Al-Attiyah and Loeb in force, massacre for Audi

The 2022 Dakar starts on the same basis as the 2021 edition, with a first stage synonymous with a major project. It's very simple, there was Nasser Al-Attiyah-Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) and Sébastien Loeb-Fabian Lurquin (BRX) on the winning side, and all the other competitors on the losing side.

Already in the lead at the end of the 19 km Prologue, the Qatari driver and his French navigator continued their momentum on Sunday January 2. While the stage offered a sandy 333 km loop around Ha'il, the new Toyota Hilux T1+ did wonders! Constantly in the lead at the various crossing points, the winning crew of the Specialty World Cup in 2021 dominated their subject.

« It's incredible, the stage was very complicated to negotiate. I thought the special was going to be rather simple for the start of an event, but no. Mathieu did a remarkable job at the end of the special. We see a lot of tracks slanting towards the right of the track but he told me “no, we have to stay on the left”. »

“The Prince of the Desert” doubled the trifle of 14 cars following its decided start in 15th place the day before. “I am happy with our Toyota! BFGoodrich tires are fantastic, everything is running smoothly. I have a lot of fun in this 4×4, it feels safer. »

The appearance of this stage changed radically around km 261, between the last two way-points to be validated before the finish. In this passage, virtually all vehicles in the Elite category got lost and traveled back and forth, looking for the right path.

Only two drivers escaped without incident: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb. The Alsatian, however, got off on the wrong foot, and spent a handful of minutes at each checkpoint, the fault of two punctures. The nine-time world rally champion even appeared in a distant 17th place at km 199!

But everything changed at the end of the effort. « Nasser caught up with us, I was riding cool following my punctures. Obviously, when you're behind, it's a little easier, and it became very sandy with few stones on the track. Fabien followed his road book and anticipated the difficulties. I think we would have taken the same tracks, we would not have made a mistake. »

The missing Audis

Stéphane Peterhansel and Édouard Boulanger knew full well that their first rally-raid aboard the Audi RS Q e-tron hybrid would not be a walk in the park in the Saudi desert. But the defending Dakar crew has already lost all ambition in the general classification from the first stage this Sunday, January 2.

“Monsieur Dakar” was nevertheless off to a good start in this loop around Ha'il in the north of the country. Ranked second after 120 km, just 6 seconds behind Nasser Al-Attiyah, the Frenchman tore off his rear axle after 153 km and had to wait for his assistance truck to repair the 4×4. Which means a wait of several hours.

His teammate Carlos Sainz-Lucas Cruz better carried the hopes of the brand to the Rings, at least until the famous passage of km 261. “El Matador” is desperately looking for his way, as are the debutants Mattias Ekström-Emil Bergkvist. The Swedes were on the verge of creating a sensation by moving at an almost identical pace to Al-Attiyah-Baumel (2nd at 1'48'' at km 239, a remarkable performance for a second Dakar), but they are also gardening!

Al-Rajhi and Roma dropped

We will no longer expect anything or almost anything from Nani Roma and Alex Haro (BRX) for the general classification. The Spaniards, winners in 2014, conceded a whopping 1h15. The third BRX Hunter T1+ entered by Prodrive, driven by Orly Terranova and Dani Oliveras, lost 48 minutes.

Perceived as quite a challenger by opting for the old and reliable V8 atmo engine in the new Toyota Hilux T1+, Yazeed Al-Rajhi has turned the sand over in all directions. He lost 42 minutes.

Within Toyota Gazoo Racing, behind Al-Attiyah-Baumel, it's almost a desert. Hank Lategan-Brett Cummings suffered a puncture as well as a loss of rear wheel at km 142. Obviously, it runs much less well, in this case, not at all. Giniel de Villiers-Dennis Murphy spend more than half an hour.

Finally, Khalid Al Qassimi-Dirk Von Zitzewitz lost the sixth, fifth and fourth gear on their Peugeot 3008 DKR. Suffice to say that they will not repeat their seventh final place acquired in 2021.

Stage classification:

General classification