Carlos Sainz takes command at the start of the Dakar

The man from Madrid wins the first stage despite losing three minutes due to a puncture

Barreda, fourth in bikes after a penalty and champion Sunderland retires

MADRID, 1 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (Audi) won the victory this Sunday in the first stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally, a 367-kilometre special around the 'Sea Camp' of the Saudi test, leader of the general with 10 seconds over the Frenchman Sebastian Loeb.

The man from Madrid took command of the first in what is considered the toughest 'raid' in the world in search of his fourth title. The champion in 2020 already in Saudi Arabia recovered from an initial puncture. "Everything was fine, except for a puncture at the start of the special. I preferred to go carefully afterwards, because of the stones. The rest of the special went smoothly. The car went well. We'll see tomorrow what strategy to adopt", he said as he crossed the finish line.

Sainz and Loeb dominated the day against Mattias Ekström, third, who ended up losing in the last part of the special. The Spaniard, who achieved his 42nd stage victory on the Dakar despite losing almost three minutes, is the overall leader with 10 seconds ahead of the Frenchman and 33 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Meanwhile, in motorcycles, the victory of Daniel Sanders (GasGas) was only for a few hours since he was penalized with two minutes and Ricky Brabec (Honda) inherited his victory. Similarly, Spain's Joan Barreda suffered a one-minute speeding penalty as he dropped from second to fourth.

Sanders had left a beautiful comeback, truncating the victory to a Mason Klein who dominated in the final stretch. On the first day at Yanbu Sea Camp, after Saturday's prologue, he took the trump card from defending champion Sam Sunderland. The Briton suffered a fall at kilometer 52 and had to be taken to hospital.