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Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) of Toyota Gazoo Racing races during the prologue stage of the Dakar 2021 Rally around Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on January 02, 2021
Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool
• The 2021 Dakar Rally kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Saturday 2nd January.
• The event began with an 11km prologue stage.
• Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar took the lead in the car category.
• For more racing stories, go to Wheels24.
The 2021 Dakar Rally kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Saturday January 2 with some of the biggest names in rally-raid. The event began with an 11km prologue stage. Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah has a head start in the car race, while Ricky Brabec took first place in the motorcycle category.
Al-Attiyah, a three-time Dakar winner, took the lead in the prologue and achieved his 36th stage victory. Opens the timed special of 277 km on Sunday in the car segment.
The Qatari driver, who won the Dakar Rally in 2011, 2015 and 2019, said: “Things get serious tomorrow (Sunday) with a long opening stage.”
Toyota Hilux drivers – Al-Attiyah’s teammates Kuba Przygonski and Giniel De Villiers – posted fast times, while Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel’s Mini JCW Buggies were also able to stay close to the front in the prologue.
Peterhansel says: “We feel very lucky to start the race, I want to thank everyone who has made it possible.”
Frenchmen Sébastien Loeb and Cyril Despres can be happy with their first kilometers on the Dakar with their respective new projects. Loeb, a nine-time WRC champion, was just 17 seconds behind Al-Attiyah and Despres’s time just 30 seconds behind.
Defending champion Ricky Brabec won the prologue on bike content, but former winners Toby Price, Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland finished one minute behind the leader.
Dakar rookie Daniel Sanders enjoyed an impressive prologue with the third fastest time of the day. He said: “The bike was flying and I really had a good day. It was good to get rid of some nerves before our first big day.”
Sanders wasn’t the only Dakar rookie to earn a podium spot as Seth Quintero took second place in the light vehicle category. The 18-year-old was denied the opportunity to race the Dakar last year due to his age and is clearly in the mood to make up for lost time.
The winners of the serial truck race, Team Kamaz Master, are well prepared after the prologue with their four crews one minute behind the race leader, Siarhei Viazovich. The Kamaz trucker closest to the top of the leaderboard is Anton Shibalov, who is just seven seconds off the pace.
In the quad category, it was a tight finish with Frenchman Alexandre Giroud taking first place on the podium, finishing just one second ahead of Argentine Manuel Andujar.
There was also success for the duo of Austin Jones and Gustavo Gugelmin in the SSV category, with the pair finishing four seconds ahead of their closest rivals.
The first three overall results in each category
Car
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Gazoo Racing 0h05m48s
2. Brian Baragwanath (ZAF) / Taye Perry (ZAF) Century Racing 0h05m48s
3. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Overdrive Toyota + 0h00m08s
Bike
1. Ricky Brabec (United States) Honda 00h06m01s
2. Joan Barreda Bort (ESP) Honda + 00h00m06s
3. Daniel Sanders (AUS) KTM + 00h00m13s
Truck
1. Siarhei Viazovich (BLR) Mazda 00h06m38s
2. Aliaksei Vishneuski (BLR) Mazda + 00h00m01s
3. Martin Macik (CZE) Iveco 00h00m03s
SSV
1. Austin Jones (USA) / Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) Can-Am 00h06m43s
2. Reinaldo Varela (BRA) / Maykel Justo (BRA) Can-Am + 00h00m04s
3. Saleh Alsaif (SAU) / Oriol Vidal Montijano (ESP) Black Horse + 00h00m05s
Courtyard
1. Alexandre Giroud (FRA) Yamaha 00h07m35s
2. Manuel Andujar (ARG) Yamaha + 00h00m01s
3. Kamil Wisniewski (POL) Yamaha + 00h00m04s
