Dubai, UAE: Sebastien Loeb shrugged off a double puncture to give the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team an impressive second place as the 2022 Dakar Rally began in earnest today.
Looping around Hail in the north of Saudi Arabia, the 333-km stage was the real start of the 44th Dakar, with Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin producing an impressive display in their Prodrive Hunter.
Three-times Dakar winner Nasser Al Attiyah took an overall lead of 12 mins 44secs in his Toyota Hilux as Loeb, fifth fastest on the previous day’s prologue, moved into second position overall.
The UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi was an early casualty on the day as his Abu Dhabi Racing Peugeot 3008 DKR was halted by a broken gearbox at first passage control.
The stage featured a huge variety of terrain. It had high speed sections, complicated navigation and rocks, and even nine-times WRC Champion Loeb sufferd two punctures before recovering with a burst of sheer pace towards the end of the test.
Orlando Terranova/Dani Oliveras finished 11th while Nani Roma/Alex Haro finished 18th following some navigational difficulties after being at the forefront of the stage, making the critical choices of direction that so many behind can follow.
The three Prodrive Hunter cars today saved over two tonnes of CO2 emissions by running the Prodrive EcoPower sustainable fuel that is created from agricultural waste material. It reduces carbon emissions by 80% compared to petrol.
Loeb finished the stage to say: “It was a long and difficult stage, but the strength of the car allowed us to keep a good rhythm and pace. The navigation was really tricky at some points while in some places it was quite rough. We had two punctures, but overall, a good day and we are happy to have this result.”
Terranova said: “The stage was very fast with some straight tracks but between 120 and 140km we had two punctures. However, the first one took time because we couldn’t shut the door over the damaged tyre and then after that we saw that the navigation was tricky.”
Gus Beteli, BRX team principal, said: “We are happy with the cars as it’s still the first big stage. However, there is a long way to go with another 12 days of this rally ahead of us.”
Bengaluru, May 05, 2024
Indian National Space Promotion and
Bengaluru, India – May 02, 2024 – Agora, Inc.
Gurugram, India – October 11, 2023: Samsung announced exciting offers
Bangalore, 10th October 2023: The Nokia G42 5G (16GB+256G
Bengaluru, 8 May 2024: As Akshaya Tritiya approaches, the anticipation for new beginnings and prosperity fills the air.
India – April 30, 2024 – Solitario, the premier destination for luxury lab-grown diamo
Mumbai - National, 29th April 2024: Greenply Industries Limited, a pioneer in the interior infrastructu
Automotive / 08-05-2024
TVS SCS wins new Business Deal for Eicher’s Bus Facility in BaggadCorporate / 08-05-2024
Join the Movement: Spykar #VOTINGISCOOL Campaign encourages Youth participation in electionsCorporate / 08-05-2024
Zoomcar aims to add over 20,000 cars by the end of fiscal year 2025Automotive / 08-05-2024
Yamaha Unveils Vibrant Colours in FZ-S Fi Version 4.0 DLXCorporate / 08-05-2024
Young Thalassemia Survivor meets German Lifesaver, Emotions Run HighPelikken © Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved
