New Year commenced with a bang for motorsport enthusiasts as far in the desert of the Middle East, Dakar 2021 has kickstarted in its 43rd season. Let's take a look at all the action that took place at the end of Stage 2.
Defending champion Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz started Day 1 with confidence in the opening 277km Special Stage from the capital city of Jeddah to Bisha. In this treacherous stage, many cars suffered more than one punctures, but Sainz escaped unscathed.
The veteran Spaniard set the pace with a time of 3:05:00 with his X-Raid Mini teammate Stephane Peterhansel trailing him by mere 22 seconds.
Driving the Ford for Team Benzina Orlen, Czech driver Martin Prokop bagged the third position trailing behind by 4 minutes and 42 seconds behind Sainz, despite a one-minute penalty. No Toyota Gazoo driver managed to make it into top five in Stage 1.
Giniel De Villiers in his 304 number Hilux was almost 10 minutes behind the lead car while Dakar favourite Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel came in 10th, 12 minutes and 13 seconds clear of the Mini. Plagued with punctures, WRC champion Sebastien Loeb crossed the line at 17th position at the end of Stage 1.
First big dunes of the season arrived in Stage 2 which ran from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir spanning over 685 kilometres (including the Special Stage). Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah showed his mettle on sand finishing with a time of 4:03:14 going flat out across each checkpoint.
He even overtook three cars in a single go at one point and jumped to third in the overall standing after Stage 2.Finishing second once again was Stephen Peterhansel in his X-Raid Mini while his teammate and reigning champ Carlos Sainz faced navigation and engine problems. He still crossed the line third and dropped to second in the overall board.
Local hero Yazid Al-Rajhi was close behind Sainz in fourth driving Overdrive Toyota. A great run by Sebastien Loeb saw him jump his overall position to seventh after finishing sixth in Stage 2.
