Sainz resists Al-Attiyah’s challenge in the Dakar rally prologue

The Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) has shown from the first moment its status as a favorite in the 44th edition of the Dakar, which started this Saturday, and prevailed in the 19-kilometer prologue with a time of 10 minutes and 56 seconds, beating the Spaniard by 12 seconds Carlos Sainz (Audi) and in 36 seconds to the South African Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing).

A short first day of competition in the timed section (special) but with great importance since in addition to counting for the final classification the first 15 will choose, in reverse order, their position at the start of stage 1B being able to avoid opening the track or going too far back and being harmed by traffic.

In addition, the prologue will help the drivers to continue adapting to their cars, since they have 815 kilometers of link ahead (with a maximum speed established between 100 and 120 kilometers per hour) until they reach the camp in Ha’il.

🚗💨 @AlAttiyahN is already on the attack! ⚡️#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/MUDytCuZ7F

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 1, 2022

From day one he wanted to mark Al-Attiyah territory. The Qatari, winner of three editions of the Dakar (2011, 2015 and 2019) recognized in the previous one that winning the fourth in Saudi Arabia was something “very important for him”, and he did not want to leave anything behind. 19 kilometers with more than half (57 percent) on sand in 10 minutes and 56 seconds to lead the classification.

Lazy Peterhansel

Behind him are his main rivals, with the exception of the French Stephane Peterhansel, 14 times winner of the Dakar (six on a motorcycle and eight in a car) and one minute and 12 seconds left.

The one who did squeeze Al-Attiyah was his partner at Audi, which presents an innovative hybrid vehicle, Carlos Sainz. Only 12 seconds were the Spanish and behind, and with the same time both (11:32) the South Africans Baragwanath and Henk Lategan (Toyota).

The French Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) finished in fifth position, 37 seconds behind leader Al-Attiyah, followed by local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota) with 11 minutes and 43 seconds, while the Spanish Nani Roma (Bahrain Raid Xtreme), winner of the Dakar in motorcycles in 2004 and in cars in 2014, finished in seventh place (11 minutes and 45 seconds).

A first day of competition without surprises before starting the real fire. A 334-kilometer special awaits the pilots and co-drivers tomorrow Sunday, starting and finishing in Ha’il, where the tracks, and consequently the navigation, will be the keys to achieving a good result.

In the motorcycle category, the Austrian Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas) took the victory in the prologue with a time of 55 minutes and 30 seconds, beating the Chilean by one minute Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) and in one minute and 55 seconds to the Botswana Ross Branch (Yamaha).

To find the first Spanish rider in the prologue this Saturday you have to go down to ninth place, with a Joan Barreda (Honda) who finished with a time of 58 minutes and 30 seconds and who met the goal of being among the 15 fastest riders to be able to choose the starting position on the second day of competition, which already has 334 kilometers of timed section (special).

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The current champion in the motorcycle category also achieved it. The Argentinian Kevin Benavides (KTM) finished fourth, two minutes behind Sanders’ time.