UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi was satisfied by how he opened his Dakar Rally campaign and wants to continue the good momentum for the remaining stages.
The Abu Dhabi Racing chairman, alongside co-driver Xavier Panseri, had a lost waypoint which cost him two minutes in the first stage but completed the 32km Peruvian desert stage between Lima and Pisco on Saturday night in 24th position in 27 minutes and seven seconds.
Although it was more than six minutes slower than winner Nasser Al Attiyah, Sheikh Khalid was pleased with the start and is hoping to improve over the next fortnight.
“We started on a balanced speed. There were a lot of tracks as the bikes started before the cars so there were a lot of tracks,” said the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner.
“As a result I missed a waypoint and so I had to circle to get back on track which cost us some precious time. But after this we had good momentum.
“It was a short day, just about 31km of special stage and now I am looking forward to the longer stages that lie ahead of us on this epic rally.”
Sheikh Khalid’s time was even quicker than nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb who is bidding for a maiden Dakar win.
The Frenchman’s hopes were hit when his Peugeot developed brake problems which left him 5 min 37 sec off the lead and down in 29th place.
“Happily, it was only 31 kilometres!” said Loeb who is bidding to become just the fourth man to win both the world rally title and Dakar after Finnish duo Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankkunen and Spain’s Carlos Sainz.
“I made it without brakes! Zero brakes!,” he added before admitting he had no idea where the problem originated and that his car’s brake lights had not provided any warning.
Peugeot, who swept the podium in 2017 with Stephane Peterhansel taking a 13th overall title, endured a day to forget with their cars struggling in the sand and wind of the desert.
Peterhansel, who has won the last two car titles, lost 2 min 15 sec and is 11th overall while team-mate Cyril Despres is 2 min 36 sec behind and in 15th.
“I didn’t have a good feeling,” said Peterhansel. “The sun was high and I couldn’t see the other sides of the dunes. So I preferred to be safe. We will have to wake up.”
