For Toby Price, the Dakar Rally 2020 has begun well and the driver from Australia has secured the stage one. Ricky Brabec, an American driver at the top of the time table, has also taken to two wheels by the KTM racer who is also the Dakar winner. Nonetheless, Brabec is only a couple of minutes away and is still very much willing to think about Price.
An improbable candidate is leading the way in the car category. Indeed, that’s not one of the favors, and not even Stephane ‘ Mr. Dakar ‘ Peterhansel, or Nasser Al-Attiyah nor Carls Sainz. Lithuanian rally champion Vaidotas Zala then started the rally with a strong performance that led him to victory on the field. In 2019, when he finished 12th in an X-Raid Mini this year, the 32-year old also showed a strong show.
The more prominent names were greatly frustrated by the fact that Romain Dumas had to rebel early out of his Dakar. After 65 km of the rally, his DXX engine caught fire, contributing to its retreat. After the crash, Dumas said they had just had ample time to leave the car before it went into full flames.
The French man and current co-driver Paulo Fiuza have had communication problems and they are pushed into the second position in the car division after having navigational mistakes. Never before did Peterhansel use an English-speaking browser. He was supposed to compete alongside his wife Andrea on Dakar 2020 before she was removed for medical reasons. Toyota’s champion of the Dakar, Nasser Al-Attiyah, finished third in the day. The second driver, the double champion of the F1 World Fernando Alonso, Toyota Gazoo Racing, finished the first 11th point.
Ignacio Casale, who also took his 20th stage win at the Dakar, took the lead in the quads group. Casale led Rafal Sonik, second in place, by more than five minutes. Anton Shibalov was the first to take the lead in the truck division with his Kamaz Master. And Aron Domzala guided the Side class on.