The 2017 Dakar Rally has started officially! After months of preparations, the participants finally were able to cover the first miles today.
Initially, the first stage didn’t look like much more than a mere warm-up exercise. The schedule only included 39 kilometres, mainly aimed to determine the starting order for the first serious stage on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the stage turned out to be trickier than it seemed. Mud, water, rocks, dust: the competitors were put to the test straight away.
Tim and Tom Coronel kept their heads down and completed the first stage without any problems. As it was expected, the buggy performed perfectly. Tim completed the stage in 33m13s and thus emerged as the fastest driver in the solo classification. Tom needed over one minute more, but still secured a 1-2 for the Coronels.
Tim was very happy afterwards: “Well, the first stage is in the books! I am really happy to have finished together with Tom, really great! This stage was mainly about driving in a row, I only managed to overtake two competitors. I took it rather easily and kept everything in piece for the upcoming days. Along the stage, spectators lined up in numerous rows, fantastic! That is a great motivation. I took more time waving to the spectators than looking at my roadbook. All in all, it was a nice day, everything looks well so there isn’t much to complain about.