Nasser Al-Attiyah, Daniel Sanders and Mitch Guthrie excelled over Stage Two’s dangerous boulders at the 45th edition of motorsport’s toughest test of endurance, the Dakar Rally. Here is all you need to know:
January 2 | Stage 2 | Sea Camp – Aluha | Distance – Total/Special: 589.07km/430 km
– Over 400km on Monday’s Stage Two brought competitors through a rock garden of dangerous boulders as defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel cut into Carlos Sainz’s overall car lead with a victory in their Toyota Hilux T1+. The 52-year-old said: “Mathieu did a really good job with the navigation, it wasn’t easy today.”
– Sadly for those behind it was harder as BRX Hunter driver Sébastien Loeb forfeited over an hour to race leader Sainz, while Sainz’s fellow Team Audi Sport drivers Stéphane Peterhansel of France and Swede Mattias Ekström were both more than 30 minutes behind Qatari Al-Attiyah.
– Australian Daniel Sanders eased off his bike throttle late on to ensure an easier start to Stage Three with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Toby Price and Kevin Benavides also in the top five overall. The 28-year-old said: “I slowed down a bit because we already know that tomorrow is going to be another really tough day. I wasn’t after the stage win today.”
– American Mitch Guthrie of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA delivered a first stage win for his T3-M by MCE5 vehicle and a perfect birthday present for co-driver Kellon Walch. The 26-year-old declared: “Kellon did great today with navigation and the car was awesome.”
– Tuesday’s Stage Three points the convoy towards Ha’il via a timed special stage measuring 447km with plenty more big boulders and steep canyons to navigate before the stage ends on the dunes.
Catch up on all the latest action HERE.
Learn more about Carlos Sainz’s legendary journey in the documentary Carlos Sainz: Live to Compete on Red Bull TV.
January 1 | Stage 1 | Sea Camp – Sea Camp | Distance Total/Special: 602.56km/367km
– The 2023 Dakar Rally wasted no time in serving up drama on the sands of Saudi Arabia as Sunday’s Stage One saw the bike race’s defending champion crash out, while fresh-faced challengers excelled.
– New Year’s Day brought with it an ultra-tough 368km loop stage around Dakar Rally’s Sea Camp in Yanbu with motorsport legend Sainz claiming his 42nd Dakar stage win in an Audi RS Q e-tron E2 alongside co-driver Lucas Cruz. The 60-year-old said: “We had one puncture at the beginning, so after that, we proceeded with caution over the stones.”
– Sadly Briton Sam Sunderland’s defence of his bike title ended 52km into the stage with 2020 winner Ricky Brabec topping the timesheets leaving Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Benavides and Price within a minute.
– Chilean Chaleco López’s new Dakar has started where his last one finished, in the overall lead of the T3 category as the defending champion took the stage win for the Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team alongside co-driver Juan Pablo Latrach while Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal delivered another winning result in the T4 category. The Lithuanian said: “This was just the first stage, but it already feels like proper Dakar.”
December 31 | Prologue | Sea Camp – Sea Camp | Distance Total/Special: 11km/11km
– A short, sharp 13km Saturday prologue track on the shores of the Red Sea determined the starting positions for Sunday’s more challenging 368km timed special stage with a total of 603 competitors in 355 vehicles racing mostly in less than 10 minutes to launch the race.
– Two-time DTM championship winner Ekström piloted the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 for the first time with the day’s fastest time across all categories (eight minutes) to claim an early lead in the T1 car class. The Swede, 44, said: “A good end to 2022, but tomorrow is the real start.”
– Over to the T3 race and Cristina Gutiérrez set the fastest time with co-driver Pablo Moreno as she looks to improve on third place overall at the previous Dakar. The Spaniard, 31, said: “I’m feeling really happy with the car and team, the mentality is really positive.”
– Former bike champion Price won for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team. The 35-year-old said: “I’m feeling good and the bike’s feeling good.”