Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen) was quickest of the first leg of the 2011 Dakar Rally-RAID, held between Victoria and Cordoba, in Argentina.
The Spanish driver, winner last year, was 1’30 quicker than Stéphane Peterhansel’s BMW, followed by the others Volkswagen of Al Attiyah (+ 2’16), Giniel de Villiers (+ 4’17) and Mark Miller (+ 5’06).
The track became very slippery after a storm in the area. Peterhansel went wide and damaged the back of his car, but fortunately did not lose a lot of time in the incident.
Guerlain Chicherit (Mini All4 Racing), however, lost a lot of time after mechanical issues on his car. So did Robby Gordon with his Hummer’s two wheel drive in such difficult conditions.