The Dakar is back! Check out the extended highlights of the first day of action at #Dakar2024 as the competitors got underway with a short Prologue in the region of AlUla. Spaniard Tosha Schareina was the faster rider, whilst Sweden’s Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist were victorious in their Audi on the loop around the “Start Camp” and there was plenty more action to enjoy! We have lift off
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#Dakar2024
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dakar
https://www.twitter.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2024
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Happy New Year and happy new Dakar.
00:09 It's 2024, Dakar 46, and I'm back for another year
00:13 to bring you the most banging, kick-ass, juiciest, hardcore,
00:17 and light-hearted highlights this side
00:19 of the Arabian Peninsula.
00:20 Strap in for three weeks of Saudi sand and desert dust.
00:24 It's Dakar time.
00:25 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:28 But before the real fun can begin,
00:30 there was scrutineering for all the vehicles
00:32 and the obligatory media duties for the competitors.
00:35 And don't they just love it?
00:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:40 The enthusiasm is overwhelming.
00:45 Carlos, Pablo, AJ, Kevin, all the big boys
00:48 are here perfecting their celebrations.
00:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:55 [SPEAKING SPANISH]
00:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:01 Some have had lots of wins here already, some not so many.
01:04 Some have won overall and over and over,
01:10 and some have always wanted to but never have.
01:13 New faces, new teams, and new jumpsuits,
01:16 and now we're good to go.
01:22 Start camp this year is in Al-Ula
01:24 in the northwest of Saudi Arabia,
01:26 a crossroads of early civilizations
01:28 and a site of huge importance in the history of humanity.
01:31 It's a breathtaking mix of sand-swept dunes
01:34 and dramatic rock formations, where old meets
01:37 new in perfect harmony.
01:39 And it's in this land, steeped in tales of bravery,
01:42 bloodshed, and conquest, where the latest hero stories
01:45 will start to be written.
01:47 Welcome to Dakar 46.
01:52 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:55 The Dakar for me is the most ultimate adventure
02:12 you can possibly have.
02:15 We start with a prologue, just 27K, a little warm-up
02:18 ride around the block.
02:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:23 Really special about riding a bike high-speed
02:28 through the desert.
02:29 The feeling, it's-- yeah, you can't explain it to someone.
02:32 I love racing.
02:36 I love competition.
02:37 And I also like the adventure.
02:38 This is like the best adventure riding.
02:44 The atmosphere is amazing and can't wait to get going.
02:47 For some of bikes biggest names, the last year
02:49 has been a rocky road and not the chewy chocolate kind.
02:53 Broken bones for Howes, Klein, Sanders, Sunderland, Valtner,
02:56 and even reigning champion Kevin Benavides.
03:00 It was nice landscape, but you know the fact
03:02 that the other riders start in front of us.
03:05 The navigation was so tricky, so many change of direction
03:08 that makes it really tricky.
03:10 But I'm OK.
03:12 French superstar AVB has finished on the World
03:14 Championship podium the last two years,
03:16 but still craves a first Dakar title.
03:19 He sand surfed this morning on his way to a fourth place.
03:22 There was one moment where I came back.
03:28 I saw the stakes were supposed to come through,
03:30 so I cut back to go through them and hit one camel grass
03:33 and had the big crash.
03:35 And then my road book stopped working, so I had no road book.
03:38 And then because I had no road book,
03:39 I was more or less following the tracks that
03:41 were going all over the place.
03:43 Last year, Skyler Howes found his way into our hearts.
03:46 This year, he's already found his way into the grass.
03:48 Not a complete disaster, but a five-minute deficit,
03:51 not the start the mustachioed man from Utah was hoping for.
03:56 It's like a motocross track for 27 Ks,
03:58 and then some tracks are going right,
04:00 some tracks are going wrong.
04:01 So I just had some fun, and I enjoyed it.
04:04 It was nice, sandy, exactly what I like from Botswana.
04:07 Ross Branch is almost always smiling,
04:09 and the Motswana was certainly happy with third today.
04:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:17 It was definitely a rough one.
04:23 There was a lot of traffic before,
04:25 and the sand was really soft and a lot of camel grass,
04:28 so it was really rough.
04:29 Really hard on my femur, which wasn't good.
04:33 After breaking it in May, Daniel Sanders, the colonel,
04:36 would have preferred his femur looking good,
04:37 rather than frying his thigh in something
04:39 crunchy on the opening day.
04:41 Nonetheless, his secret blend meant a solid second
04:43 for the Aussie.
04:44 But top spot went to Spain.
04:46 I feel good.
04:47 The bike felt really, really good.
04:48 And yeah, more difficult than we expected for the prologue.
04:53 But yeah, I think this is the Dakar,
04:55 this is the main event of the year.
04:57 So yeah, happy and focused for tomorrow.
05:00 Tosca Scherena has finished 13th in both his previous Dakar
05:03 outings, but had no bad luck today.
05:06 The bikes category looks as wide open as the desert plains.
05:09 The Valenciano leads by 12 seconds from Sanders,
05:12 with Branche just behind.
05:13 And the top 10 is made up of some very familiar names.
05:16 These times do count for the overall.
05:19 Riders in the original BiMotul category
05:21 have red numbers and no support crews.
05:23 The real pioneers and the real spirit of the Dakar,
05:26 leading them after today's prologue,
05:28 Austrian rookie Tobias Ebstack.
05:32 Onto four wheels now, and the quads category
05:34 is severely depleted this year, just 10 on the start list.
05:37 On top of the prologue pops Argentine Francisco Moreno.
05:42 Age-old landscapes, age-old monuments, age-old tombs,
05:46 an age-old event, and the same age-old problems
05:49 for some of the cars.
05:50 Oh, it will be a difficult day, because we have only
05:54 two-wheel drive, so we will see how it works.
05:58 Something tells me these guys won't
06:00 be having the same issues.
06:01 We didn't know before if we want to push
06:06 to win the 10 first cars and to choose the position,
06:09 or if it's more safe to be behind.
06:12 Five-time champion Nasser Al-Attir is once again favorite,
06:15 but Seb Loeb dreams of taking his crown.
06:17 So how hard to push on today's potential banana
06:20 skin of a prologue?
06:21 Finally, we decided to go for it, to push,
06:23 and hopefully the time will be good.
06:26 Having finished second three times in seven appearances,
06:29 Loeb says the Dakar has become his obsession.
06:32 He and co-driver Fabien Lecun were third today.
06:35 Just behind sensational Seth Quintero.
06:37 I just didn't want to play any games.
06:43 I just wanted to go out and drive, and that's what we did.
06:45 And right now we're sitting second,
06:47 so it feels super good to be against the greatest
06:49 in the world, the greatest that have ever done it,
06:51 and to be competitive with them.
06:53 Go out and drive seems like an excellent strategy to me,
06:56 Seth.
06:56 Good plan.
06:57 Second for Seth as Matthias mastered the prologue
06:59 with co-driver Emil Bergqvist.
07:02 We had a clean run.
07:03 Emil did a fantastic job.
07:04 It was difficult navigation, many junctions,
07:07 so I was happy with our job.
07:10 Stéphane Pére-Hansel missed a turn but came in seventh.
07:13 Nasser Al-Attiyah also ignored the sat-nav
07:15 in his new pro-drive Hunter, finished 12th, a minute down.
07:18 So what's the best strategy for tomorrow?
07:20 Either you finish top three, or if that doesn't work out,
07:27 you have to be after tenth today.
07:28 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
07:31 Top ten, the faster, he will choose the ten,
07:33 and we are always behind them.
07:36 The first stage is super hard.
07:38 It's long with lots of stones, and nobody wants to open.
07:41 [SPEAKING FRENCH]
07:44 12th, I think it's the best start position.
07:49 Today we had a bit of a stumble.
07:51 I hope the consequences won't be too bad.
07:54 We'll see.
07:55 T3 time now, and it's all changed this year.
07:57 No longer are they called that, nor buggies, or even
08:00 lightweight prototypes.
08:01 Now they're the challengers, and they
08:03 include Eric Gottschall, last year's T4 winner.
08:06 I know with Dakar just around the corner,
08:08 these athletes can't have a big blowout on New Year's Eve,
08:10 but I'm not sure day one of the race is the best time either.
08:13 It was the first kilometers I've been
08:18 waiting for the whole year.
08:20 I think it was more selective with the tougher terrain,
08:22 but also the views, everything was
08:24 excellent about this prologue.
08:27 There's a very familiar name at the peak of the prologue pile,
08:29 Eric Gottschall.
08:31 I said a familiar name, not an easy to pronounce one.
08:33 He moved up a class, but continued where he left off.
08:37 And it was a historic day for Xavier de Soultre,
08:39 who took a first Dakar success on four wheels
08:42 after winning on two back in 2019.
08:44 Not too shabby for Happy Chavvy.
08:48 Overall victory last year in the trucks
08:50 went to the Dutch-Polish crew of Janis van Kasteren.
08:53 And Janis was the boss again today
08:55 in his appropriately named Boss Machinery Tentana.
08:58 A very recognizable top 10 with the Martins, Maciek,
09:01 and Van den Brink both on the 2023 podium.
09:05 It's pretty open, but it's not just a question of speed.
09:09 We always try to make sure all the ingredients of rally
09:11 rider, their navigation, endurance, speed.
09:14 And I believe we have a nice balance.
09:16 Now it's up to them.
09:18 It's the most wonderful time of the year
09:20 with the bike spindle spinning and everyone
09:23 driving their trucks and their cars.
09:25 It's the time to enjoy the Dakar.
09:28 And boom, we're off and running.
09:29 Well, riding and driving anyway.
09:31 See you tomorrow.
09:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
09:43 (whooshing)
09:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]