Before we go into a little bit of detail about Stage 2 we’d like to congratulate Sam Sunderland on winning Stage 1, by just 5 seconds to Goncalves, he did however thoroughly spank reigning champ and team mate Coma by just over 1 minute.
All the rest of the Brits made it through the stage, their starting positions for tomorrow aren’t confirmed until they return to the bivouac.
So here’s the run down:
Sam Sunderland #6 – 1st on stage
Chris “Corky” Cork #104 – 150th on stage
Llewelyn Pavey – #75 – 84th on stage
Simon Pavey – #76 – 85th on stage
Dean Gibbs – #423 – 123rd on stage
Chris Rutter & team – #556 – 53rd on stage
Stage 2 – Villa Carlos Paz to San Juan
From ASO – “Any rest will be short-lived, because before reaching San Juan, the competitors will have a particularly busy schedule: quite simply the longest special stage in the rally, which is varied enough to unsettle even the most experienced of drivers. Hard terrain at the start of the race will be followed by dusty sections in the middle of the day and a sandy stretch to finish. This is the first real test, which can only be successfully overcome through constant vigilance.”
The longest they say, a whopping 518km, that’s the equivalent of London to Carlisle, over rocks, hills and dunes. It’ll be interesting to see how the front runners settle after that, will Sam keep and extend his early lead? Or will Coma’s experience pay dividends and see him rise to the top? All we know is it wouldn’t be Dakar if it wasn’t tough!