January 4, 2015 – Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah (MINI) turned on the afterburners from the start and seized the lead of the 2015 Dakar Rally after the 175-kilometer opening stage in Argentina today. The Qatari saw off Argentina’s Orlando Terranova (MINI), with Robby Gordon (Hummer) finishing in third place, one minute down.
Carlos Sainz was the fastest of the Peugeot drivers, but he finished down in 8th, more than 2 minutes off the lead, while 2014 race winner Nani Roma suffered a huge blow when his car stopped early in the stage.
In the bikes class, Sam Sunderland delivered on his promise at the end of the opening special stage, beating Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) by just 5 seconds to claim KTM’s first win of the year. Marc Coma and Joan Barreda had an uneventful day, finishing 3rd and 4th, more than a minute behind the class leader.
Chilean rider Ignacio Gasale (Yamaha) made a great start to Dakar 2015, leading the way in the Quads class and finishing the opening stage a minute ahead of his closest pursuer.