The Dacia Sandriders has completed its first competitive Dakar Rally stage full of optimism as the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship began in earnest today (Saturday) following Friday’s Prologue.
With Sébastien Loeb keen to avoid running too far ahead on the road for tomorrow’s 48-hour Chrono stage, The Dacia Sandriders opted for a strategic approach for the Frenchman through the 413-kilomete Bisha-Bisha test, which he completed in 22nd position alongside his Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin.
Although that tactic masked the true pace of Loeb’s Ultimate-category Dacia Sandrider, which is equipped with BFGoodrich tyres and powered by sustainable fuel from Aramco, it could prove decisive to the outcome of the Saudi Arabia-based event for Loeb, with the arduous 965-kilometre Stage 2 up next.
But while Loeb, who is chasing a maiden Dakar Rally victory, prioritised strategy over performance in order to start lower down the order on Stage 2, Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno didn’t hold back. They posted the fourth fastest time among the W2RC-registered crews in fifth overall. It was the Spanish pairing’s first Dakar Rally stage in the headlining Ultimate category and their effort was particularly impressive after they overcame a minor brake issue and problems with hanging dust.
Nasser Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar Rally winner and the reigning World Rally-Raid champion, endured a more challenging start to this 21st Dakar Rally following the failure of the tablet used for navigation and the on-stage Sentinel security system, which was also an issue for his team-mates. An enforced stop to change a damaged tyre caused further delay for the Qatari and French co-driver Edouard Boulanger, who completed Stage 1 in 20th overall. Like Loeb, Al-Attiyah is set for a more advantageous road position on Stage 2.
Tiphanie Isnard, Team principal, the Dacia Sandriders : « It was a clever stage, it was what we wanted. We wanted to start more carefully because it was the first Dakar stage for us, we knew it was complicated and David Castera, the race director, promised this and it happened. There was a lot of difficult navigation with terrain that was also difficult for the cars, so it was good to go through.
« We are in a good place for the 48H Chrono tomorrow and this is important for us. We also saw Cristina was really fast and all three cars are here at the finish without any big damage so we can be quite happy following the first stage. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), driver, the Dacia Sandriders : « After just 100 kilometres, my tablet for the digital roadbook broke, which made things more challenging for the navigation. Catching up with the dust was tough, and I feel sorry for the bikes we had to pass without the Sentinel security system. But Edouard did an amazing job navigating under the circumstances. Unfortunately, we had a puncture in the last 10 kilometres and had to stop to change it. Despite everything, we’re in a good position for tomorrow, staying focused on our goal to finish the next 48hours without any more setbacks. »
Cristina Gutierrez (Spain), driver, the Dacia Sandriders : « I didn’t expect this result, I knew that everyone is going to stop in the stage but not so many times. We stopped two times in the stage because we had issues with the brakes and we had problems with the dust, so many things to think about. But we are happy and it’s good to finish in this position. Tomorrow will be difficult, but we are here to learn and to understand how to compete in these conditions. »
Sébastien Loeb (France), driver, the Dacia Sandriders : « It was a boring day because we all have to play some strategy for tomorrow, we didn’t want to win the stage for sure, we wanted to have a good road position for the long stage, the 48-hour that is coming tomorrow. We took it easy, we event stopped at the end of the stage to lose a bit more time. I’m quite satisfied with the position. We lost 10 minutes and we are quite far behind so we will be about 15th on the road maybe so the position is good. »
DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1 RESULTS
Bisha-Bisha
Stage distance: 413km / Liaison distance: 86km / Total distance: 499km
5th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 4h37m21s
20th: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA), 4h46m21s
22nd: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h47m24s
DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER
1: Today’s opening Bisha-Bisha test marked The Dacia Sandriders’ first competitive Dakar Rally stage.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 2, BISHA-BISHA, JANUARY 5-6
New for 2024, the 48-hour Chrono stage is designed to test the competitors’ endurance and performance over 1000 kilometres of desert in two days. Away from the relative comfort of the Bivouac, one remote service halt, two refuelling zones and six rest areas feature on this most challenging of stages, with dawn starts for both riders and drivers.
Billed as the quintessential rally-raid experience, last year’s Chrono stage took place in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter. For 2025, the action is based on more varied terrain to the north of Bisha but with the same level of difficulty. The entrants tackle around 200 kilometres of sand dunes on Sunday and approximately 100 on Monday.
Stage distance: 965km / Liaison distance: 46km / Total distance: 1057km
Linda Hirvonen,