– Sixth place for Terranova in the Prologue
– Leg one of the Dakar 2021 gets underway tomorrow
The long preparations are over, and the Dakar 2021 is finally up and running: a short, eleven-kilometre Prologue near Jeddah provided the perfect opportunity for the drivers to find their feet. The fastest X-raid crew was the Argentinean duo of Orlando Terranova and Ronnie Graue, who finished sixth in their MINI JCW Rally. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) and Dmitry Tsyro (UKR) were twelfth, also in a MINI JCW Rally. Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger (both FRA) ended the Prologue in 14th place. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (both ESP) had an unfortunate start to the Dakar: a puncture meant they had to settle for 28th place, 36 seconds behind the first place.
Orlando Terranova: « It was not so easy to get the right feeling – after all, it is about a year since I last competed in a rally. Furthermore, my eyes had to adjust to the speed and terrain. Despite this, it was a good start for us. The MINI is running very well, I just need to adjust my seat position a little. I think we are in a good starting position for tomorrow. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « I felt really good in the Buggy. We were expecting a better result, but maybe I played it a little too safe. The most important thing is that I felt really good. We will push harder tomorrow – we are ready. »
Carlos Sainz: « Unfortunately, that was not the best way to start a Dakar. About 1.5 kilometres in, we suffered a puncture on one of the rear tyres. We continued without checking the tyre, but we had to drive slowly. Not great, but it is the overall result that matters. Tomorrow the Dakar really starts. »
Prologue result
1. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) – Toyota – 5m 48s
2. B. Baragwanath (ZAF) / T. Perry (ZAF) – Century – 5m 48s
3. Y. Al-Rajhi (KSA) / D. von Zitzewitz (GER) – Toyota – 5m 56s
4. J. Przygonski (POL) / T. Gottschalk (GER) – Toyota – 6m 00s
5. B. Ten Brinke (NDL) / T. Colsoul (BEL) – Toyota – 6m 02s
6. O. Terranova (ARG) / R. Graue (ARG) – MINI JCW Rally – 6m 02s…
12. V. Vasilyev (RUS) / D. Tsyro (UKR) – MINI JCW Rally – 6m 05s…
14. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / E. Boulanger (FRA) – MINI JCW Buggy – 6m 07s…
19. V. Zala (LTU) / P. Fiuza (POR) – MINI JCW Rally – 6m 08s…
22. D. Krotov RUS) / O. Uperenko (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 6m 18s…
24. G. Spinelli (BRA) / Y. Haddad (BRA) – MINI ALL4 Racing – 6m 19s…
28. C. Sainz /ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – MINI JCW Buggy – 6m 24s…
44. V. Khoroshavtsev (RUS) / A. Nikolaev (RUS) – MINI JCW Rally – 6m 57s…