‘Flat-out’ Al-Attiyah wins second stage
Toyota driver Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar won the second stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of rivals Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz.
The three-time Dakar winner sped through the 457km stage from Bisha to Wadi ad-Dawasir in 4hr 03min and 14sec to take the victory after reigning champion Sainz won Sunday’s opening stage.
“It was a good day,” said Al-Attiyah, who is aiming for a seventh Olympic skeet appearance in Tokyo later this year.
“Yesterday [Sunday] we lost a lot of time because we opened the way and it was not really good for us and we didn’t take risks.
“But today we went flat out and everything is working very, very well. The tyres were amazing and the car too, the pace from start to finish, no mistakes at all... there’s still a long way, but it’s a good start.”
Peterhansel, a 13-time winner of the race, led the overall standings with Spaniard Sainz 6min 37sec behind and Al-Attiyah just over nine minutes back.
The Frenchman said he had been stressing about how to avoid getting bogged down in the first sand dunes of this year’s Dakar.
“It was the first dunes, but also the car was full of diesel which meant it was really heavy,” said Peterhansel, whose 13 Dakar victories came seven times in a car and six on a motorbike.
“So, the priority was not to get stuck. After that, I have to say that we navigated well.”
RESULTS Second stage
1. Nasser al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Toyota) 4hr 03min 14sec; 2. Stephane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger (FRA/FRA/Mini) at 2:35; 3. Carlos Sainz/ Lucas Cruz (ESP/ESP/Mini) 9:17; 4. Yazeed Al Rajhi/ Dirk Von Zitzewitz (KSA/GER/Toyota) 10:24; 5. Mathieu Serradori/Fabian Lurquin (FRA/BEL/Century) 10:27
STANDINGS
1.Stephane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger (FRA/FRA/ Mini) 7hr 17min 18sec; 2. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz (ESP/ESP/Mini) at 6:37; 3. Nasser al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Toyota) 9:14; 4. Mathieu Serradori/ Fabian Lurquin (FRA/BEL/Century) 14:21; 5. Jakub Przygonski/Timo Gottschalk (POL/GER/Toyota) 24:27