The 2014 Dakar Rally got underway Sunday with the first stage between the Argentine towns of Rosario and San Luis. Leading the way in the motorcycle category was Joan Barreda, who gave Honda the victory with a Stage 1 run of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 31 seconds – 37 seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Marc Coma and 1 minute, 40 seconds ahead of defending Dakar bike champ Cyril Despres of France.
“The stage wasn’t long, but it was a difficult one,” said Barreda in a Honda statement. “We raced on hard-pack terrain with stones and blind corners. The course was twisty and you had to stay focused. I was doing fine, finding my rhythm soon and keeping it to the finish. I will enjoy this evening!”
In the car category, Portugal’s Carlos Sousa (pictured) collected the victory and sits 11 seconds ahead of Argentina’s Orlando Terranova. Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah is third, 47 seconds behind Sousa.
The United States’ Robby Gordon, also competing in the car category, had a disastrous beginning to his 2014 Dakar and after Stage 1, he’s already two hours and eight minutes off Sousa’s pace.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said to the Dakar website. “Everything went smoothly when we took things easy on the link section, but from the moment we started the special [stage], we had vapor lock problems and we had to stop. Then, all the other fluids started to overheat, so we had to stop at least five or six times…
“At the end, we had stopped for the umpteenth time when Competitor No. 390 offered to tow us to the end of the special. Honestly, it’s strange, I don’t know why this happened. We’ll have a look at it in the bivouac, although it’s disappointing to lose two or three hours on the very first day of racing…It’s worrying.”
Ignacio Casale of Chile earned top honors in the quads ahead of 2013 Dakar class champ Marcos Patronelli (+ :21 behind) and Lucas Bonetto (+ 1:17 behind). In the trucks, Ayrat Mardeev of Russia leads by ten seconds.
Tomorrow’s second stage will see the competitors remain in Argentina and head from San Luis to San Rafael. NBCSN will begin broadcast of Dakar highlight coverage starting tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET.
