Dakar Rally

Buenos Aires > Rosario The prologue of the 38th edition of the Dakar was marred by an accident that saw competitor 360 veer off course at km 6.6 of the special and injure four spectators. Race officials immediately deployed all resources available to the site of the accident and decided to neutralise the race. As a result, the timed section was cancelled for the trucks. As for the race, the car special delivered a pleasant surprise.

Rosario > Villa Carlos Paz [CANCELLED] The first stage of the 38th Dakar has been cancelled due to extreme weather on the course. A double whammy of storms and extremely thick low clouds kept aircraft grounded, making it impossible for them to guarantee the safety of the competitors. As a result, race director Étienne Lavigne was left with only one realistic option. The competitors headed to Villa Carlos Paz under link section rules after the decision was announced. A route has been selected on which motorcycles and quads move in a convoy, while cars are allowed to travel on their own. The trucks had not departed the Rosario bivouac yet, so they are heading to today's finish on the course for assistance vehicles. It goes without saying that there were no changes in the classification and the start of stage 2 tomorrow will be based on the places at the end of yesterday's prologue. Joan Barreda's Honda will be the first motorcycle and Bernhard ten Brinke's Toyota the first car. In the latter category, the 46 competitors who were unable to start the prologue's timed section due to the accident of competitor 360 will be assigned notional times by race officials. Tomorrow's stage from Villa Carlos Paz to Termas de Río Hondo is tricky to say the least. An initial link section 70 km long will take the competitors to the start of the second special, the longest of the 2016 edition. With 510 km's worth of easy but fast tracks on the menu for the cars and trucks and 450 km for the motorcycles and quads, the first gaps could open up between the favourites in each category. The end of the special lies about 250 km from Termas de Río Hondo.

Villa Carlos Paz > Termas de Río Hondo After a short prologue and a cancelled first stage, the Dakar genuinely kicked off between Villa Carlos Paz and Termas de Rio Hondo. On a quick stage without significant navigational difficulties, Toby Price was the first to leave his mark on the race with his second stage victory on the Dakar. Battling in the provisional times throughout the special with Ruben Faria, the Australian finally made his superiority count at the end of the stage, grabbing the lead in the general standings by two seconds from his Portuguese rival. For a first attempt, Sébastien Loeb carried off a master stroke by winning his first stage on the Dakar, despite losing two minutes in the mud. The Frenchman is the star of the day and takes the lead in the car category.

Termas Rio Hondo > Jujuy On this third stage, the special was predicted to suit quick drivers and riders. Indeed, it lived up to its expectations. Sébastien Loeb gave a veritable demonstration behind the wheel of his Peugeot, just like Joan Barreda behind the handlebars of his Honda. Whilst Barreda, enjoying his 14th stage win on the Dakar with this success, regained the lead in the bike category, Sébastien Loeb strengthened his position of leader in the car race.

Jujuy > Jujuy The Peugeot armada dealt a huge blow to its rivals at the end of an amazing first half of the marathon stage. Stéphane Peterhansel won ahead of teammates Carlos Sainz and Sébastien Loeb. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini) finished in fourth place, preventing Cyril Despres from completing the Lion's whitewash by 57 seconds. In the motorcycle category, Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) finished behind Joan Barreda, but he was named the victor after his team leader was again caught speeding and penalised. The Portuguese rider also moved to the top spot in the classification.

Jujuy > Uyuni Already the winner of two stages on his first Dakar and leader of the general standings in front of the rally's specialists, Sébastien Loeb continued his progress on this 38th edition. He picked up another victory today and also extended his lead in the general standings. Behind him, Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel gave a second consecutive 1-2-3 to Peugeot. In the bike category, Toby Price won on completion of a perfectly ridden stage, climbing up to third in the general standings.

Uyuni > Uyuni The rivalry has been revived within the Peugeot team. After another demonstration by Sébastien Loeb yesterday, today triumph was in the hands of Stéphane Peterhansel. Taking advantage of the problems that befell Sébastien Loeb (a puncture and faulty electronics), the record holder for victories on the Dakar won the special and took hold of the lead in the general standings. With a finish 8'15 behind his countryman, Loeb lost the leadership of the car category by 27 seconds. In the bike race, Toby Price (KTM) was victorious, for the third time since the start. In the general standings, whilst the Portuguese rider retains command of the rally, Price has come back to within 35 seconds. The day also witnessed a considerable amount of withdrawals.

Uyuni > Salta Carlos Sainz finally managed to bring home the bacon, taking the seventh stage of the 38th Dakar. The Spaniard and his DKR 2008 netted the sixth consecutive win for Peugeot, which only failed to win on the opening day. Sébastien Loeb wrestled the overall lead back from Peterhansel. In the motorcycle category, Antoine Méo took his maiden Dakar win at the end of a shortened stage.

Salta 289 vehicles made it to the 2016 Dakar's rest day in Salta (112 motorcycles, 36 quads, 90 cars and 51 trucks, amounting to 83% of all starters). Peugeot smashed everyone's expectations, especially with freshman Sébastien Loeb, who holds the lead halfway through the race ahead of teammates Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz. Experienced Paulo Gonçalves is gallantly containing the onslaught of Toby Price and fellow youngsters Kevin Benavides, Antoine Méo…

Salta > Belen Nasser Al Attiyah has finally brought an end to the Peugeot domination of this 38th Dakar. At the end of a completely crazy stage, the leading Mini triumphed ahead of the two Peugeots driven by Carlos Sainz, 12 seconds behind, and Stéphane Peterhansel, 31 seconds behind. As for Sébastien Loeb, having difficulty in the dunes, he made a wrong move towards the end of the special and drops down the general standings. In the bike race, Toby Price (KTM) enjoyed a twofold triumph, winning the stage and taking command of the general standings.

Belen > Belen Carlos Sainz is not the type of man to miss an opportunity a second time. Deprived of victory yesterday by 12 seconds, today he won a stage shortened due to the extreme heat by a similar margin of 10 seconds. The Spaniard triumphed on top of a new-look stage podium, as Erik Van Loon (Mini) finished on his coat-tails and Mikko Hirvonen (Mini) completed the day in third, only 17 seconds behind. Sainz especially took advantage of Stéphane Peterhansel's arrival down the stage order at the advanced finishing line in order to regain the commands of the general standings. The Spaniard now boasts a lead of 7'03'' over his French team-mate. Toby Price (KTM) again won in the bike category, but due to the premature finish to the race, he did not fully benefit from his show of force today. Having started the day in second place in the overall rankings, Paulo Gonçalves came very close to plummeting down the race hierarchy, but was given a life-line by the possible application of a grouped time that could keep him in the club of pretenders to the title.

Belen > La Rioja Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot) smashed the opposition at the end of a frantic stage in the car category. He rose above the difficulties and capitalised on the misadventures of his direct rivals to assume a very comfortable lead in the classification of the 38th Dakar. As the day draws to a close in La Rioja, it is hard to see who could possibly deny him a twelfth victory in Rosario. Cyril Despres, his teammate, was the only driver who managed to keep up with the Peter phenomenon. Al-Attiyah (Mini), Hirvonen (Mini), Sainz (Peugeot) and Loeb, who came in fifth, were hit by mechanical problems or got stuck in the sand. The motorcycle race saw Štefan Svitko (KTM) claim his first scalp at the Dakar, but leader Toby Price (KTM) still enjoys a margin of over 28 minutes over the Slovakian rider in the general classification.

La Rioja > San Juan Nasser Al Attiyah today obtained a second success on the 38th edition of the Dakar. The Mini driver won after putting the pressure on during the second part of the stage. He beat Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot), who broke a gimbal two kilometres from the finishing line, and his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen, who came in third. Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot), leader of the overall ranking, finished fourth and lost a little more than 8 minutes to the day's winner. In the bike race, Toby Price (KTM), like Peterhansel, controlled his rivals, whilst Antoine Meo made a big impact to win the stage and grab hold of third place in the overall ranking.

San Juan > Villa Carlos Paz As a sixth title in the car category approaches, Stéphane Peterhansel did not take the slightest risk to reach Villa Carlos Paz. The race for stage victory was sumptuous, however, between the two Toyotas of Leeroy Poulter and Giniel De Villiers and the two Minis of Nasser Al Attiyah and Mikko Hirvonen. The latter picked up his first win on the Dakar in a tense finish. The scenario was similar in the bike category with the leader, Toby Price, focusing on control and Helder Rodrigues off the leash. The official Yamaha rider grabbed his first success of the 2016 vintage as well as fourth place in the overall ranking. As for Antoine Meo, third this morning, he was the day's big loser. After a fall, 20 kilometres from the finishing line, he drops three places in the overall ranking.

Villa Carlos Paz > Rosario The 38th edition of the Dakar ended in Rosario today with Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot) wrapping up his sixth triumph in the car category and Toby Price, racing in the motorcycle category, stamping his name on the list of winners for the first time. Marcos Patronelli grabbed another victory in the quad race, while Gerard de Rooy made it two in the truck category. Today's stage was marked by Sébastien Loeb's fourth victory and Pablo Quintanilla's triumph in the motorcycle race.