Titleholder Sainz wins opening leg of Dakar Rally

Sun, 02 Jan 2011

Cordoba, Argentina - Defending champion Carlos Sainz of Spain won the opening leg of the 2011 Dakar Rally on Sunday.

The former world rally champion completed the 788-kilometer stage from Victoria to Cordoba 1 minute, 31 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Stéphane Peterhansel of France in a BMW.

Third place went to Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, one of four drivers in a VW Race Touareg.

The rally began on Saturday with a so-called liaison stage that saw 407 drivers race off-road from Buenos Aires to Victoria, a distance of 377 kilometers.

The race is taking place in Argentina and Chile for the third consecutive year, after security problems drove it out of its original location in Africa.

The Dakar Rally, with more than 9,500 kilometers including 5,000 kilometers of specials, is to end January 15 also in the Argentine capital, where winners are to be celebrated a day later.

This edition, like its predecessors, will feature key stages in northern Chile's challenging Atacama Desert.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360455,opening-leg-dakar-rally.html.