Peterhansel leads Saudi’s Al-Rajhi in dramatic opening day at Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge produced an opening day of high drama which brought vastly contrasting fortunes for some of the sport’s biggest rally names, while two local heroes stepped into the spotlight.

Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, who set off in search of his third cars triumph in the event, was soon returning to the start after damaging the front right wheel of his Toyota Hilux, with his victory hopes ruined.

As Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel toiled to make repairs, seven-time winner Stephane Peterhansel and nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb produced an intriguing battle for the lead.

That ended when Loeb’s Prodrive Hunter was halted for almost 90 minutes by a broken drive shaft before resuming, leaving Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger with breathing space in their Audi RS Q e-tron.

They finished with a 9 minutes and 30 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi in a Toyota Hilux, with Czech driver Martin Prokop, the 2018 champion, 14:59 off the lead in third in a Ford Raptor.

It was back in 1996 that Peterhansel scored his first win in the rally on a bike, and he recorded his most recent triumph with wife Andrea as co-driver in 2019.

Reaching the finish today, he said: “It is great to be back in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge after so many times. I cannot remember the exact number. The rally is always challenging with the dunes, soft sand and the required navigation. This car is running well and no modifications were required following the Dakar Rally.”

Poland’s Jakub Przygonski had been comfortably holding a top three spot before his Mini John Cooper Works Buggy lost time when it became stuck in the dunes, dropping him to fourth. Mathieu