Dakar Summary – Stage 1
The inaugural stage of the 34th Dakar Rally began in Lima on the Pacific west coast of Peru. A total of 449 cars, trucks, bikes and quads set off on the 250km-long stage, ending in Pisco. In addition to the long first trip, a special 13 kilometre stage on the sand dunes outside Pisco posed a last hurdle to the teams.
The first stage saw Carlos Sainz leading the way, even setting the impressive time of 7:40 on the special dune stage. That put him 24 seconds ahead of Lucio Alvarez in his Toyota, and Al-Attiyah another eight seconds behind them.
South African competitors for Toyota Motorsport, Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz in car #301 (the impressive Imperial Toyota Hilux) and Duncan Vos and Rob Howie in car #312 got through the first day without much trouble. The two teams finish ninth and 13th overall respectively in their category. De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz completed the special stage in 8:15, only 35 seconds behind leader Sainz in his buggy. Vos and Howie finished 44 seconds behind the leaders.
“It was quite an easy stage today and not much more than a warm-up for the more serious challenges that lie ahead.” De Villiers said of this his 10th Dakar. Modesty aside, De Villiers is rated by race favourite and 2012 winner, Stephane Peterhansel (France) as the “driver to beat.”
The later finished eight overall in the first stage, navigated in his Mini by Jean Paul Cottret.
The second stage starts in Pisco, Peru, covering 242 kilometres.
Go to our Facebook page to view photos taken by contributing editor Danie Botha at the 2013 Dakar Rally
Click here to view a video summary – Cars and Bikes (Stage 1)
Click here to view a video summary – Tucks and Quads (Stage 1)
Stage 1 Results (Overall Standing) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pos | No. | Team | Time |
1 | 303 | Sainz (ESP) Buggy |
00:07:40 |
2 | 306 | Alvarez (ARG) Toyota |
00:07:48 +00:00:08 |
3 | 300 | Al-Attiyah (QAT) Buggy |
00:07:50 +00:00:10 |
4 | 309 | Chicherit (FRA) SMG |
00:07:50 +00:00:10 |
5 | 316 | Chabot (FRA) SMG |
00:07:52 +00:00:12 |