The reigning champion of the Dakar rally Nasser Al-Attiyah and two-time winner of the FIM Cross-Country World Cup Paul Quintanilla they’ve got the prologue stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2023, with a 7-kilometer route through the gates of Al Dhannah, giving the ten fastest cars and motorcycles the chance to choose their starting order for stage 1 this Monday. .
Three-time ADDC winner Nasser Al Attiyah lived up to expectations by winning the prologue in 4’45”. Guerlain Chicherit set the second fastest time with a 4” advantage over Sébastien Loeb’s other Prodrive Hunter, 10” behind the Qatari leader. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), a second behind the Frenchman, is also in contention.
In T3, his teammates Seth Quintero and Mitch Guthrie Jr (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA) won the prologue in this order and by the same second, just ahead of Cristina Guttiérez (Red Bull Can -Am Factory). Mattias Ekström (South Racing Can-Am) and Dakar winner Austin Jones (Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA) were further back: 8th and 9th of the day.
In T4, Rokas Baciuska (Red Bull Can-Am Factory), champion of the category and candidate for another victory, prevailed.
Nasser Al Attiyah chose to start tomorrow’s first stage in 10th, with Guerlain Chicherit 9th, Sébastien Loeb 8th and Yazeed Al Rajhi 7th. Cristina Guttiérez will open the stage ahead of Mitch Guthrie and Martin Prokop (Orlen Benzina Team).
Honda puts muscle on motorcycles
With the important absence of two heavyweights in the motorcycle category, such as the last two winners of the Dakar rally, Kevin Benavides and Sam Sunderland, both with fractures due to falls in previous training sessions, Pablo Quintanilla, winner of the ADDC in 2018 and 3rd last year, he won with a time of 5’00” ahead of his teammate Adrien Van Beveren (+2”) and KTM rider Toby Price (+5” ).
Tough start for Skyler Howes (Husqvarna Factory Racing), only 10th. The American, 3rd in the Dakar, was the last to choose his starting position. In Rally2, Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM Racing) was ahead of Konrad Dabrowski (Duust Diverse Racing). Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing) had a poor start with a two-minute penalty for missing a waypoint.
In the quads, Abdulaziz Ahli won over Rodolfo Guillioli. Laisvydas Kancius (AG Dakar School) received a 2-minute penalty, also for missing a waypoint, and was relegated to the bottom of his category.
At the end of the starting order ceremony for the open stage, the fastest rider of the day gets as far away from the stage opener as possible. Quintanilla starts 11th, “VBA” 10th and Price 9th.
Mohammed Al Balooshi, last time in the RallyGP category, will open the stage, followed by Skyler Howes and “Nacho” Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda). Bonuses will be awarded to the first three from the start to the finish of the stage under the new regulation in 2023, which aims to reward those who open the route.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
