It doesn’t matter who you ask. The answer to yes this edition of the Dakar (despite the second week still to go) is being the toughest and most demanding since the rally arrived in Saudi Arabia, is a resounding yes. But not only that, the edition is leaving specials where never before the pilots had suffered so much. On each return to the bivouac the conclusions were very similar, “it has been very hard” was repeated frequently once each stage was discovered and that happened in the best of cases. Because the first week of this 45th edition of the toughest rally in the world has been decisive especially for the cars and has left, at the first changes, big favorites with no options for anything.
The first shock of all came with a Sunderland defending crown and suffered the harshness of this edition in the first stage. A fall knocked down the reigning champion, leaving the motorcycle category orphaned, in search of its eighth different winner in recent years. Unlike the four wheels, in this category there are several names that still have a chance to win, because from the start about 10 favorites for victory were already expected, but just two days later Brabec also fell to continue shortening a list in the that Mason Klein, recently released as a winner, is clear about which is his favorite: “Toby (price)although I also see Skyler is very close… I don’t know because everything is very tight, but I would say Toby ”.
The American KTM rider sweeps home and although it is surprising to see the bleeding of these first eight days, Barreda assures that they knew “it was going to be like this. was anticipated a very demanding week with a lot of navigation. The road book within the entire odyssey that the route has entailed has been the least conflictive, the category comes “difficult days” which have not been less complicated for the cars. Above all, because on motorcycles there are still several candidates for the Touareg while on four wheels, the race is seen to be judged and only Al Attiyah has it in his power to lose it. Again.
at first it was Loeb who got out of the car in a second stage full of problems. The Frenchman’s speech is practically two hours away from the Hilux and although his speech remains optimistic (and partly realistic), “the Dakar is never finished until the end”, very badly Nasser would have to be given a second week where he just make sure. He doesn’t even need speed. The power of the BRX and the Audi that the Qatari talks about so much, It’s not a threat right now. Especially since the brand with the four rings is also out of play. The sixth stage ended any chance of victory for Saniz and Peterhansel after a flight of six meters and also, with any rival for Al Attiyah beyond the desert itself. Although their relationship has always been exemplary.
Despite all his advantage, the Qatari also hopes a “very complicated” second week and although his closest rival in the general, Lategan, is not one of those who counted to put him in trouble, he prefers not to see himself as a winner: “(The first week) hasn’t decided on the title, we need to be careful and 100% to avoid making any mistakes”.
