Here’s what happened in the opening two stages of the 2018 Dakar Rally…
Stage One:
The 31 km special that took place along the coast of Pisco after a 262 km liaison was the inaugural stage of the 2018 Dakar rally, where Peugeot Total will be defending its title as it battles it out against the likes of Toyota Gazoo Racing and Mini X-Raid.
Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah (alongside navigator Mattieu Baumel) managed to claim victory in the first stint, with a closing time of 21 minutes and 15 seconds while piloting the Gazoo Racing Hilux.
Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Michel Perin claimed second place in another Hilux, with a time of 22 minutes and 16 seconds. They were followed by a surprise third-place finish by Nicolas Fuchs and navigator Fernando Adrian Mussano, who completed the stage in 22 minutes and 25 seconds in their Borgward BX7.
A pair of Minis took fourth and fifth, while South African Giniel de Villiers claimed sixth in his Hilux.
Peugeot Racing’s Stephane Peterhansel and navigator Jean Paul Cottret ended off in 11th place with a time of 24 minutes and 6 seconds. The reason for this two-minute gap between him and Nasser, according to Peterhansel, was the poor positioning of his headlamps, which left him driving “like a granny”.
Nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb (also in a Peugeot) started the race off with dysfunctional brakes, which saw him finish in 26th place with a time of 27 minutes and 28 seconds.
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah & Matthieu Baumel | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 21 min 51 sec | |
| 2 | Bernhard ten Brinke & Michel Perin | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 22 min 16 sec | + 25 sec |
| 3 | Nicolas Fuchs & Fernando Adrian Mussano | Borgward Rally Team | 22 min 25 sec | + 34 sec |
| 4 | Bryce Menzies & Peter Mortensen | X-Raid Team | 22 min 29 sec | + 38 sec |
| 5 | Nani Roma & Alex Haro Bravo | X-Raid Team | 22 min 44 sec | + 53 sec |
| 6 | Giniel de Villiers & Dirk von Zitzewitz | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 22 min 45 sec | + 54 sec |
| 7 | Lucio Alvarez & Robert Howie | Overdrive Toyota | 23 min 03 sec | +1 min 12 sec |
| 8 | Mikko Hirvonen & Andreas Schulz | X-Raid Team | 23 min 27 sec | + 1 min 36 sec |
| 9 | Jkub Przygonski & Tom Colsoul | X-Raid Team | 23 min 36 sec | + 1 min 45 sec |
| 10 | Martin Prokop & Jan Tomanek | MP-SPORTS | 23 min 55 sec | + 2 min 04 sec |
Stage Two:
In the more challenging 267 km liaison through the dunes of Pisco, Peugeot Racing tasted more success, with the French manufacturer claiming the top three positions on the stage. Cyril Despres and navigator David Castera headed up the long-distance stage with a finishing time of two hours, 56 minutes and 51 seconds, followed by Peterhansel and Loeb.
Crossing the line in fourth place was De Villers (and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz) with a time of three hours, four minutes and 17 seconds – enough to put the South African in third place overall. Victor of the previous stage, Nasser Al-Attiyah, suffered a massive blow after his navigator fell ill 15 km into the route. This resulted in him finishing in eighth place with a time of three hours, 11 minutes and 42 seconds.
| 1 | Cyril Despres & David Castera | Team Peugeot Total | 2 hrs 56 min 51 sec’ | |
| 2 | Stephane Peterhansel & Jean Paul Cottret | Team Peugeot Total | 2 hrs 57 min 39 sec | + 48 sec |
| 3 | Sebastien Loeb & Daniel Elena | Team Peugeot Total | 2 hrs 59 min 59 sec | + 3 min 08 sec |
| 4 | Giniel de Villiers & Dirk von Zitzewitz | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 04 min 17 sec | + 7 min 26 sec |
| 5 | Orlando Terranova & Bernardo Graue | X-Raid Team | 3 hrs 9 min 44 sec | + 12 min 53 sec |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz & Lucas Cruz | Team Peugeot Total | 3 hrs 10 min | + 13 min 09 sec |
| 7 | Mikko Hirvonen & Andreas Schulz | X-Raid Team | 3 hrs 10 min 41 sec | + 13 min 50 sec |
| 8 | Nasser Al-Attiyah & Matthiew Baumel | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 11 min 42 sec | + 14 min 51 sec |
| 9 | Ronan Chabot & Gilles Pillot | Overdrive Toyota | 3 hrs 13 min 04 sec | + 16 min 13 sec |
| 10 | Bernhard ten Brinke & Michel Perin | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 16 min 45 sec | + 19 min 54 sec |
General Standings
| 1 | Cyril Despres & David Castera | Team Peugeot Total | 3 hrs 21 min 18 sec | |
| 2 | Stephane Peterhansel & Jean Paul Cottret | Team Peugeot Total | 3 hrs 21 min 45 sec | + 27 sec |
| 3 | Giniel de Villiers & Dirk von Zitzewitz | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 27 min 02 sec | + 5 min 44 sec |
| 4 | Sebastien Loeb & Daniel Elena | Team Peugeot Total | 3 hrs 27 min 27 sec | + 6 min 09 sec |
| 5 | Nasser Al-Attiyah & Matthieu Baumel | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 33 min 33 sec | + 12 min 15 sec |
| 6 | Orlando Terranova & Bernardo Graue | X-Raid Team | 3 hrs 34 min 08 sec | + 12 min 50 sec |
| 7 | Mikko Hirvonen & Andreas Schulz | X-Raid Team | 3 hrs 34 min 08 sec | + 12 min 50 sec |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz & Lucas Cruz | Team Peugeot Total | 3 hrs 34 min 30 sec | + 13 min 12 sec |
| 9 | Bernhard ten Brinke & Michel Perin | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA | 3 hrs 39 min 01 sec | + 17 min 43 sec |
| 10 | Nani Roma & Alex Haro Bravo | X-Raid Team | 3 hrs 42 min 06 sec | + 20 min 48 sec |
