The second stage of the Dakar rally is underway and poses a fresh challenge for the competitors.
From Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi, the 463-kilometer-long special filled with dunes and fast stretches will “favor the brave,” as the Dakar puts it, “but not the reckless.” It is truly an endurance stage.
Bikes
Yesterday’s stage winner Ross Branch was the first one to hit the road during Stage 2. Not long after the start, Lorenzo Santolino (5th on day one), had to stop due to a mechanical issue which he could not repair and forced him to retire.
At the first checkpoint, the first nine riders were separated by only one minute, and Luciano Benavides was the leader of the pack at that point.
Mason Klein also encountered some issues with his bike, and he came to a halt at km 46. He only resumed his race after two hours of work.
Ross Branch was losing a lot of time at km 167 compared to other riders, but, despite that, he was still the leader of the general standings.
At km 226, Pablo Quintanilla became the new leader of Stage 2 ahead of Nacho Cornejo by just one second. The latter took the lead at km 342 and another stage victory for him was getting closer.
In the end, Nacho Cornejo snatched the win of Stage 2 ahead of Luciano Benavides and Pablo Quintanilla by 6′ 35″ and 6′ 48″.
Branch was still the overall leader, with a gap of 2′ 30″ to Cornejo and 6′ 50″ to Brabec.
Quads
At the first checkpoint, Francisco Moreno was leading the field ahead of Alexandre Giroud, who had a lot of time to recover after a tough Stage 1 performance. Meanwhile, Marcelo Medeiros was almost 3 minutes behind the leader.
After a slow start to Stage 2, Medeiros showed his great pace, and at km 96, he was 4 minutes ahead of Juraj Varga, who was sitting in P2.
At km 226, Medeiros was still leading with a margin of 5 minutes ahead of Juraj Varga. Meanwhile, Giroud was still struggling and was 10′ 30″ behind the leader.
In the end, it was the Brazilian who claimed the win of the special after an impressive performance altogether.
Cars
Stage 2 will already prove to be extremely important for Nasser Al Attiyah since his gap to the top was 25 minutes. His struggles in Stage 1 were given to two punctures in the very early part of the day.
At the first checkpoint, Stéphane Peterhansel was leading the pack, ahead of Al Attiyah and Carlos Sainz by 39 and 57 seconds. Later on the road, at km 137, Peterhansel was still ahead. Meanwhile, Al Attiyah lost 8 minutes, and the first driver chasing Peterhansel was Yazeed Al Rajhi.
After losing the lead to Seth Quintero by 10 seconds, Peterhansel regained it at km 226. He was now ahead by 31 seconds, and in the meantime, Loeb was also recovering ground.
Sainz was only sixth at km 226, but he overtook de Mevius in the general standings.
In the end, though, it was Mister Dakar who took the victory of the stage, followed by Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, and the American Seth Quintero in third. A truly mixed podium in which no single team dominated, as is been an occurrence in past editions.