Toyota GAZOO Racing

It took Al-Attiyah only 10 minutes to finish the 19 km long stage. He was 12 seconds quicker than his first rival with Henk Lategan in third place. It won’t matter much in the general standings, but it could be crucial when choosing the starting place for the first big stage on Sunday. Giniel de Villiers had a hectic week, but arrived in time on Jeddah to start a new Dakar adventure. The South African driver finished the prologue in P8. Shameer Variawa ended the prologue in 23rd place.

Bernhard ten Brinke

Another surprise entry in the Dakar Rally is Bernhard ten Brinke. The Dutchman wasn’t supposed to start this years rally but got drafted in when fellow countryman Erik van Loon was forced to withdraw because of covid. Ten Brinke enters the rally with Van Loon’s co-driver Sebastien Delaunay and also with the brand new Toyota Hilux T1+. The first day behind the wheel of the car wasn’t bad at all for Ten Brinke. He managed to finish on a 68 second disadvantage to Al-Attiyah and ended in P12.

Riwald Dakar Team

In the truck category two teams are supported by Eurol this year. Firstly the Riwald Dakar Team from The Netherlands. Rally ace Gert Huzink started of very strong on Saturday with a solid P6 on the prologue stage. His teammate Pascal de Baar also finished close to the top places with a good P11 in the opening stage.

Mammoet Team De Rooy Iveco

Martin van den Brink has made the switch to Iveco for this years Dakar Rally. He’s supported by Team de Rooy now, but still races under his Mammoet Rallysport banner. Van den Brink did his first miles in competition with the Iveco truck and finished in 10th place. His son Mitchel van den Brink functions as the fast assistance for the team and finished in P14 on Saturday.

The first real stage gets underway on Sunday morning with a 334 km long stage starting and finishing in Ha’il.