Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah wins first stage of Dakar Rally

Mini driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and co-pilot Matthieu Baumel of France, race towards victory in the opening leg of the 2015 Dakar Rally. Felipe Dana / AP Photo

Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Mini won the first stage of the Dakar Rally on Sunday between Buenos Aires and Villa Carlos Paz as the annual race got underway in front of huge crowds.

Al-Attiyah, who won the title with Volkswagen in 2011, clocked 1 hour 12 minutes for the 170 kilometre timed section of 833km stage.

That was 22 secs faster than Argentina’s Orlando Terranova, also in a Mini, and 1min 04secs ahead of American Robby Gordon behind the wheel of a Hummer.

Veteran Peugeot drivers Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel placed sixth and seventh respectively at 2 mins 06secs and 2 mins 35secs, but last year’s winner, Nani Roma, struggled in his Mini to end the day some 20 minutes behind.

“The stage was a bit too fast, but we got off to a good start. We needed to know where everyone stands,” said Al-Attiyah.

“We might be able to be more aggressive tomorrow. There were a few tricky spots where we didn’t take any risks. The car worked perfectly.”

Peterhansel, an 11-time champion, admitted that he did not drive flat out with a marathon stint to follow over the next two weeks.

“It was a bit stressful to tackle the first special when you don’t know how strong you are,” said the Frenchman.

“We eased into the race, without taking too many risks, gently, keeping a watchful eye on all the dials... We’re trying to learn about the car. We had no clue how far we could go.”

In the motorbike section, Britain's Sam Sunderland on a KTM was fastest in 1hr 18min 57secs, five seconds faster than Paulo Goncalves of Portugal on a Honda and 1min 12secs ahead of last year's winner Marc Coma on a KTM.

“It’s difficult to judge your strategy based on the first day because you still don’t know who’s pulled out all the stops,” said Sunderland.

“It’s also important not to go all in, you’ve got to leave something for the other stages.

“However, I think I had a good special and that’s always a reason to be happy. The bike didn’t miss a beat.”

This year’s rally features a gruelling 9,000 kilometres trek through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia before arriving back in Buenos Aires for a January 17 finish.

Former winners Sainz and Peterhansel were spearheading the Peugeot campaign as the French car-makers returned to the Dakar Rally for the first time in 25 years.

Their ultimate goal was to win but at the very least they were expected to prevent the Minis from completing another clean sweep of the auto podium.

Peterhansel took second place last year for Mini behind then teammate Roma.

Peugeot won the Dakar for four successive years from 1987-1990 when it was still staged in Africa.

This year’s event, the seventh in South America since its enforced transfer for security reasons from Africa, is the 37th of all time.

The 2014 race takes the Dakar caravan from the Atacama, the driest spot on the planet, to the Iquique dunes and crossing the Andes at the highest point on Argentina’s Route 40, the 4,970m mountain pass of Abra del Acay.

In all, there will be 4,600km of special stages including a 781km time trial from the Bolivian city of Uyuni to Chile’s Pacific Coast.

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