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.
