RIYADH — Belgian Guillaume de Mevius took a surprise lead in the Dakar Rally after the Toyota driver won the tough opening stage in Saudi Arabia while favourites Sebastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah ran into trouble.
De Mevius finished the 414km stage from Al’Ula to Al Henakiyah one minute and 44 seconds clear of Audi’s second-placed Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
Toyota’s South African Giniel de Villiers was third overall but nine minutes and 18 seconds off the pace.
“I’m quite surprised, to be honest; we drove smart and avoided punctures and I think that was the key to lead. But I’m quite surprised to finish so high up,” said de Mevius.
The day’s big losers were Al-Attiyah, the reigning champion, and nine-times world rally champion Loeb — both driving Prodrive Hunters.
Frenchman Loeb was 18th and more than 22 minutes adrift while Al-Attiyah, a five-times Dakar champion and winner for the past two years, was 21st.
“In the first 50km we had two punctures and then we cannot push. We just tried to manage (to reach) the finish,” said Al-Attiyah according to Reuters.
Dakar record holder Stephane Peterhansel, a 14-times winner on two wheels and four, was 23rd.
The start of the first car was delayed after an incident with a spectator, who was taken to hospital, some 200 metres into the stage.
There was an immediate shock in the motorcycle category when Honda’s prologue winner Tosha Schareina retired with a broken left wrist after 240km.
“I tried to pass (Australian) Toby (Price) and I think I hit something with the rear wheel. I crashed in slow (speed) but I broke my wrist,” he said.
Elsewhere, Ross Branch of Botswana was handsomely rewarded for stopping to help a stricken rider by emerging as the winner of the opening stage of the Dakar Rally.
Branch was leading when he jumped off his bike to help rival Tosha Schareina after the Spaniard’s race-ending crash.
The 37-year-old, in his sixth Dakar, eventually remounted to cross the line only 16th.
But the Hero factory rider got the 25 minutes he had spent helping Schareina deducted from his time, catapulting him into the early race lead by almost a dozen minutes from Ricky Brabec.
“You know, racing isn’t everything, so when you see one of the competitors lying on the floor, it’s the best thing to stop and wait with them and make sure that they’re OK,” said Branch according to AFP.
He described Schareina as “a really good guy”, adding “you never like to see your friends like that”.
“So it’s no problem for me. We had to stop and help, and that’s what we’re there for. If it was me that was lying on the ground, I’m sure he would stop and help me.”
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