Day 2: Early Dakar lead for VW

Defending Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz won Sunday's first racing stage of the 2011 event over a 222km course from Victoria to Cordoba

His time was 2hr18min32sec.

Sainz's VW Touareg was 1min31 ahead of second-placed Stephane Peterhansel in a BMW and 2min16 in front of Volkswagen team mate Nasser Al Attiyah. American driver Mark Miller was fourth, 4min17 behind.

Ruben Farina of Portugal took the stage in the bikes category, clocking 1hr58min02. He was 29sec ahead of defending champion Cyril Despres and had a 1min15 lead on Marc Coma, the 2009 champion.

WET, SLIPPERY DAY

Faria seemed surprised to have won the stage. "I did better today than many great riders with different driving styles," Faria said. "It's already a good point of reference."

Despres took the wet, slippery day in his stride. He said afterwards: "It was a great warm-up exercise - a winding route, big sliding sections, a mix between skiing and riding,

"I am in good shape... in the beginning of a Dakar, one always wonders: is this going to change much. Even if we tested our bikes, a Dakar will always be a Dakar. The race is on now and staying focused is of the essence."

Sunday's first stage from Victoria to Corboda in northern Argentina followed the ceremonial ride from Buenos Aires to Victoria on the opening day, January 1. Officials said 407 contestants started the race on Sunday, down from the 430 who enrolled.

VW team driver and 2008 winner of the Dakar, South African Giniel de Villiers, finished fifth on Sunday. He said afterwards: “Our goal is to drive at our own pace and give everything to winning.

“You cannot plan such a tough cross-country rally and force success. We are very well prepared for the challenge and the new VW Race Touareg 3 is a big step forward. For these reasons I’m looking forward to this year’s race and am confident we can do well.”

The Dakar is being held for the third consecutive year in Argentina and Chile. The 2011 event will cover 9500km, reaching the Atacama desert in northern Chile - one of the driest places on earth - before heading back for the January 16 finish back in Buenos Aires.

Dakar Rally results on Sunday after the first stage between Victoria and Cordoba in central Argentina:
Cars
1st stage (222km special) and overall standings
1 Carlos Sainz (ESP/VW) 2hr18min32
2 Stephane Peterhansel (FRA/BMW) +1min31
3 Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT/VW) +2min01
4 Mark Miller (USA/VW) +4min17
5 Giniel de Villiers (RSA/VW) +5min06
6 Krzysztof Holowczyc/(POL/BMW) +7min07
7 Orlando Terranova (ARG/BMW) +10min11
8 Robby Gordon (USA/Hummer) +11min04
9 Guilherme Spinelli (BRA/Mitsubishi) +12min00
10 Leonid Novitskiy (RUS/BMW) +13min41

Motorcycles
1st stage (192km special) and overall standings
1 Ruben Faria (POR/KTM) 1hr58min02
2 Cyril Despres (FRA/KTM) +29sex
3 Marc Coma (ESP/KTM) +1min15
4 Juan Pedrero Garcia (ESP/KTM) +2min13
5 Paulo Goncalves (POR/BMW) +2min18
7 Francisco Lopez (CHI/Aprilia) +3min14
8 Jose Helio Rodrigues Filho (BRA/BMW) +3min23
9 Jordi Viladoms (ESP/Yamaha) +4min11
10 Frans Verhoeven (NED/BMW) +4min23
11 Helder Rodrigues (POR/Yamaha) +4min57
12 Olivier Pain (FRA/Yamaha) +5min53
13 Ivan Boano (ITA/Beta) +6min37
14 David Casteu (FRA/Sherco) +6min44

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