Dakar Rally – Stage 1: crashes and punctures

After the prologue, the main event of the Dakar Rally began and it was a gruelling day as some competitors crashed out or suffered punctures. 

Skirting around volcanoes and mineral deposits, from Alula to Al-Henakiyah, those competing had a tough challenge ahead of them. 

The first stage consisted of 405 km of terrain for the bikes, quads, cars and trucks to tackle, taking a handful of crashes and punctures.

Bikes and Quads

Korr Offroad Racing’s Mason Klein opened up the rally on his motorbike. As the day wore on, the treacherous Dakar Rally took its first victim as Joaquim Rodrigues crashed out 82km into the stage and was followed by Tosha Schareina at the 240km mark. 

Hero Motosports Team, Ross Branch took the opening stage win despite a stop mid-stage to help Schareina – who had broken his arm. As a result of the good sportsmanship, the event awarded the Botswanan his lost time back. 

By the end of the stage, Branch led both Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) and Klein who finished second and third, 11 minutes behind. 

For the Quads, the biggest stories were Alexandre Giroud (Yahama Racing) and Francisco Moreno Flores (Dragon) who both lost half an hour on the first stage. The lost time put them in fifth (Giroud) and seventh (Moreno) overall. 

Due to their misfortunes, Taguatur Racing’s Marcelo Medeiros took the stage win ahead of Juraj Varga (Varga Motorsport) and Manuel Andujar (7240 Team) who took second and third, respectively. 

Sam Sunderland on his GasGas of the Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing Team during the Stage 1 of the Dakar 2024 on January 6, 2024 between Al-Ula and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool //

Cars and Trucks

For the bigger four-wheeled vehicles, the cars were the next to suffer issues on the first stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally. 2023 champion, Nasser Al Attiyah (Nasser Racing), Sebastien Loeb Bahrain Raid Xtreme) and Stephan Peterhansel (Team Audi) lost time with punctures along the route. 

The punctures cost the crews over 20 minutes, dropping them down in 19th (Loeb), 22nd (Al-Attiyah) and 26th (Peterhansel). Whereas Guy David Botterill, Toyota Gazoo Racing, limped his car home, down in seventh, with a damaged car as it dragged its rear-end over the line.  

In the general standings, Guillaume De Mevius (Overdrive Racing) took the stage win, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Giniel De Villiers, who finished one and nine minutes behind the Belgian respectively. 

In the truck class, it was the Boss Machinery Team – driven by Janus van Kasteren – who took the top honours as their truck was able to decisively cut their way through the rocky terrain. 

The Jongbloed Dakar (Gert Huzink/Martin Roesink/Rob Burrseen) and Tatra Buggyra (Jaroslav Valtr/Rene Kilian/David Kilian) crews rounded out the top three for the class, in order.

Carlos Sainz (ESP) and Cruz Lucas (ESP) for Team Audi Sport race during stage 1 of Rally Dakar 2024 from ALULA to AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia on January 06, 2024. // Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool //

That’s it for the article; Dakar Rally – Stage 1: crashes and punctures!

Read more Rally Raid here:

• Dakar Rally 2024: A gruelling challenge in the new year
• Carlos Sainz reveals injury after Dakar retirement
• Dakar 2023: Come Ha’il or high water as extreme weather hits
• Dakar 2023: Sainz, Giroud and Contardo maintain leads after Stage 2
• Dakar Rally 2023: Sainz tops Stage 1 as Sunderland is airlifted to hospital

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.