Dakar Rally 2022: Nasser Al Attiyah lays down early marker, wins prologue

Warning
to
rivals

The
prologue
stage
gave
competitors
a
quick
taste
of
the
challenging
terrain
that
will
push
them
to
their
limits
over
the
next
two
weeks.

Al
Attiyah,
who
drives
under
the
Toyota
Gazoo
Racing
with
Frenchman
Matthieu
Baumel
as
his
co-driver,
comes
into
the
event
in
red-hot
form,
having
cliched
a
record
fifth
FIA
World
Cup
for
Cross-Country
Rallies
title.
In
Saudi
Arabia,
the
Toyota
Gazoo
Racing
pair
are
behind
the
controls
of
the
all-new
T1+
version
of
their
Hilux.

Loeb
in
the
hunt

Meanwhile,
nine-time
World
Rally
Championship
winner
Sébastien
Loeb
kicked
off
his
first
Dakar
alongside
new
navigator
Fabian
Lurquin
in
impressive
fashion.

The
Frenchman
set
the
fifth-fastest
time
of
the
day,
37sec
adrift
of
Al
Attiyah.

Peterhansel
surges

Defending
champion
and
14-time
time
winner
Stephane
Peterhansel
of
France
was
14th,
with
Audi
team-mate
Mattias
Ekström
one
place
further
behind.

Elsewhere
in
the
car
category,
Laia
Sanz
finished
2min,
40sec
behind
stage
winner
Al
Attiyah
as
she
takes
to
the
wheel
at
the
Dakar
for
the
first
time.
The
Spaniard
holds
the
incredible
record
of
completing
all
11
editions
she
raced
on
a
bike
and
is
now
looking
to
bring
her
MINI
ALL4
Racing
to
the
finish
line
in
Jeddah
on
January
14.

Dune
bashing

With
the
prologue
stage
successfully
cleared
it
is
now
time
for
two
weeks
of
long,
desert
stages
at
the
Dakar.
Sunday’s
racing
features
334kms
against
the
clock
on
a
loop
around
the
Ha’il
bivouac.

Among
the
sandy
tracks
are
a
series
of
navigation
puzzles
that
threaten
to
throw
competitors
off
course
before
they
have
barely
started
the
world’s
toughest
rally.
The
2022
Dakar
Rally,
which
covers
nearly
7,500
kms
will
finish
in
Jeddah
on
January
14.