Echoes of previous editions of the Dakar Rally have been ringing out loudly across the opening days of the latest Desafio Ruta 40. As the World Rally-Raid Championship convoy plotted a route through the Argentinian province of Cordoba they have battled against each other as well as mountainous altitude, reduced visibility and winding tracks. With the first 500km of the rally now complete, let’s take a look at how things stand…
It’s been a joyous return to racing in front of wild Argentinian fans for five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah. The reigning Desafio Ruta 40 champion laid down an early marker by winning this year’s Prologue Stage in his Prodrive Hunter. The Qatari followed up his Prologue victory with second place on Stage One. If things go Al-Attiyah’s way in Argentina he could secure his third W2RC Ultimate title with one round to spare. Al-Attiyah and co-driver Edouard Boulanger are currently just 2m20s off the overall leader Yazeed Al Rajhi.
“Stage One was not easy and you could lose a lot of time. Now we know what we need to do for tomorrow and we will have a good road position to help us do it.” – Nasser Al-Attiyah.
There was drama on the Prologue for Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon as the right rear wheel came off their Toyota GR DKR Hilux just 3km into the El Condor–Copina track. This misfortune meant Moraes started Stage One back in 28th place, but during the 381km timed special stage the Brazilian tore through the pack to put himself in third overall.
“We were passing so many guys and there was a lot of dust so there were times when we had to be patient. I was a little bit surprised we finished with the third place, but also very happy.” – Lucas Moraes.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Seth Quintero is aiming for his second podium finish of the season in Argentina to add to his third place result at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge earlier in the year. Quintero and co-driver Dennis Zenz are still within touch of the overall podium despite a tricky Stage One. The duo are just over 20 minutes off third place with four stages left to race in Argentina.
Rokas Baciuska is clearly a man on a mission in Argentina as he looks to wrap up the Challenger class W2RC title as quickly as he can. Setting the fastest time in his category in both the Prologue and Stage One have seen Baciuska build a cushion of over four minutes at the front of the Challenger race. Now the Lithuanian and co-driver Sebastien Delaunay must dig deep to keep their Can-Am in the lead for the four days still to come.
“It was a long stage, almost 400km and tomorrow is also long. We want to keep this good pace we have found.” – Rokas Baciuska.
Among the chasing pack putting pressure on Baciuska is Dania Akeel. The Saudi Arabian driver has kept her Taurus T3 Max on the early pace and is just nine seconds off the overall podium following Stage One. The pre-rally aim of Akeel and co-driver Stephane Duple was to get near the front of the timesheets on every stage of this Desafio Ruta 40.
“We had a good time on a really stunning stage. I made a few mistakes but none of them came with huge consequences.” – Dania Akeel.
Two-time Dakar bike race winner Sam Sunderland has built himself a strong platform for the remaining four stages in Argentina. The Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing rider is well placed to attack the early leaders as the rally leaves Cordoba and arrives in San Juan after finishing eighth on Stage One.
“I gave it my all today and ended up losing about six minutes which is not ideal, but opening a stage of nearly 400km you kind of have to accept the way things are.” – Sam Sunderland.
Sunderland’s GasGas team-mate Daniel Sanders is also using this Desafio Ruta 40 as part of his own recovery from recent injuries. Australian rider Sanders joins Sunderland inside the Top 10 after two days of racing in Argentina.
“I never felt too comfortable today unfortunately so I was happy just to survive. The road was very slippery and we had so many turns.” – Daniel Sanders.
Local favourite Luciano Benavides saw his latest Desafio Ruta 40 ride come to a premature end on Stage One. A crash 258km into the special resulted in a hip injury for Benavides and he was airlifted out of the stage. We wish Luciano a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on his bike soon.
Tomorrow’s Stage Two at Desafio Ruta 40 sees the rally leave Cordoba and head into the province of San Juan. With over 1,500km still to be raced until the finish line arrives on Friday, June 7 there’s still plenty of twists and turns before the chequered flag flies in Argentina.
