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Stage report

Dakar 2018, Stage 1: Al-Attiyah quickest, Loeb in brake trouble

Two-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has topped the opening stage of the 2018 event, as Sebastien Loeb struggled with an early brake problem.

#301 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Matthieu Baumel

#301 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Matthieu Baumel

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Nasser Al-Attiyah, Toyota Gazoo Racing
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Toyota Gazoo Racing
Bryce Menzies, MINI X-Raid Team
Nicolas Fuchs
#300 Peugeot Sport Peugeot 3008 DKR: Stéphane Peterhansel, Jean-Paul Cottret
Bryce Menzies, X-Raid Team
Stéphane Peterhansel, Peugeot Sport

Al-Attiyah completed the timed section of the Lima-Pisco test in 21m51s in his four-wheel-drive Hilux car, and will thus open the road during the first proper marathon run of the event on Sunday.

Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Bernhard ten Brinke clocked in as his nearest rival, 25 seconds off the pace.

Their trouble-free start to the event was in stark contrast to Loeb's, the nine-time WRC champion ending up almost six minutes slower after his Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi developed a brake issue in the opening kilometres.

The Saturday stage, first of the five that comprise the Peruvian leg of the rally, was made up of a 242km road section between the ceremonial start in the capital and Pisco, and a 31km timed special traversing sand dunes around the latter.

Local hero Nicholas Fuchs, a WRC2 event winner, made up the top three in Stuttgart manufacturer Borgward's BX7 car.

Rookie Bryce Menzies led the way for X-raid Mini's all-new two-wheel-drive buggy, finishing four seconds behind Fuchs.

The two other Mini buggies in the field finished eighth and 13th, in the hands of Mikko Hirvonen and Yazeed Al-Rajhi respectively.

Former champion Nani Roma, who returned to the X-raid fold after a one-off Dakar appearance with Toyota, was the best of Mini's four-wheel-drive John Cooper Works Rally cars in fifth.

He was only a second quicker than Toyota's Giniel de Villiers, both slotting in within a minute of stage leader Al-Attiyah.

Loeb's issue aside, Peugeot had a muted showing in the opening stage, as all four of its factory entrants missed the top 10.

Reigning champion Stephane Peterhansel, having opened the road, led the way for the manufacturer, finishing two minutes behind Al-Attiyah and just a few seconds up on squadmates Cyril Despres and Carlos Sainz.

Watch highlights from Day 1...

Loprais tops trucks opener

Tatra's Ales Loprais set the pace within the truck category, completing the 31km stage with a time of 25m15s.

He was 22 seconds quicker than the Renault truck of nearest rival Martin van den Brink, and 29 seconds clear of top Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev. The rest of the Russian marque's entrants slotted into the top eight.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the De Rooy Iveco team, with Ton van Genugten finishing fourth but teammate Federico Villagra losing almost 17 minutes.

Standings after Stage 1 (top 10):

Pos. Driver / Co-driver Car Time/Gap
1

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Matthieu Baumel

Toyota 21m51s
2

Bernhard ten Brinke

Michel Perin

Toyota +25s
3

Nicolas Fuchs

Fernando Mussano

Borgward +34s
4

Bryce Menzies

Peter Mortensen

Mini +38s
5

Nani Roma

Alex Haro

Mini +53s
6

Giniel de Villiers

Dirk von Zitzewitz

Toyota +54s
7

Lucio Alvarez

Robert Howie

Toyota +1m12s
8

Mikko Hirvonen

Andras Schulz

Mini +1m36s
9

Jakub Przygonski

Tom Colsoul

Mini +1m45s
10

Martin Prokop

Jan Tomanek

Ford +2m4s

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