Dakar 2020, Stage 2: Terranova leads, big drama for Alonso

X-raid Mini driver Orlando Terranova leads the 2020 Dakar Rally after the second stage, in which star debutant Fernando Alonso has already lost over two hours due to damage. Two-time Formula 1 champion Alonso was close to the frontrunners’ pace over the first 160 kilometres of the test, but his Toyota Hilux was then halted after an impact with a rock that left it with wheel and suspension damage.

Although Alonso and co-driver Marc Coma attempted repairs on the spot, they have now been resigned to waiting on the stage for Toyota Gazoo’s assistance truck – and while the crew should then be able to resume the marathon, any chances of a standout finish for Alonso on his Dakar debut have likely evaporated.

The Al Wajh – Neom stage, featuring 367 kilometres of timed competition, is the first of six in this year’s Dakar for which the roadbook is made available to crews minutes before the start, as opposed to the afternoon of the prior day.

Much of the day’s proceedings were dominated by local hero Yazeed Al Rajhi, who led at each of the first five waypoints and was up by over six minutes after 250 kilometres, making up for the time losses incurred in an early detour on Sunday.

Al-Rajhi’s bid for stage victory and the overall lead fell apart in the very end, however, as he ceded over 20 minutes to fellow Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers, who ended the day as the pace-setter.

However, de Villiers’ opening stage travails mean he is only sixth in the general classification after two days, and trails Terranova by 12 minutes.

The Argentine, in a four-wheel-drive Mini John Cooper Works Rally, was second fastest on the day, while Khalid Al Qassimi in a privateer Peugeot and Mathieu Serradori in a Century buggy made it four different cars in the top four in the stage rankings.

The marathon’s two most recent champions, Mini buggy driver Carlos Sainz and Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah, both surrendered over 10 minutes on Monday but are in the top three in the overall classification, with Serradori a surprise fourth.

Vaidotas Zala, who claimed a shock maiden win in the opening stage, was 19 minutes off Terranova’s pace here and now sits fifth overall.

Dakar’s all-time most successful competitor Stephane Peterhansel had been third behind Zala and Sainz, but lost more time than either as he struggled with a steering issue on his Mini buggy.

Peterhansel, however, only trails Terranova by 13 minutes in the general classification as he sits in eighth place, close behind de Villiers and Al Qassimi.

General classification (top 10):

Pos.	#	Driver / Co-driver	Car	Time	Gap
1	311	Orlando Terranova Bernardo Graue	Mini	7h7m36s
2	305	Carlos Sainz Lucas Cruz	Mini	7h12m19s	4m43s
3	300	Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel	Toyota	7h13m43s	6m7s
4	315	Mathieu Serradori Fabian Lurquin	Century	7h14m58s	7m22s
5	319	Vaidotas Zala Saulius Jurgelenas	Mini	7h15m47s	8m11s
6	304	Giniel de Villiers Alex Haro	Toyota	7h19m40s	12m4s
7	308	Khalid Al Qassimi Xavier Panseri	Peugeot	7h20m11s	12m35s
8	302	Stephane Peterhansel Paulo Fiuza	Mini	7h20m53s	13m17s
9	309	Yazeed Al-Rajhi Konstantin Zhiltsov	Toyota	7h23m41s	16m5s
10	307	Bernhard ten Brinke Tom Colsoul	Toyota	7h28m59s	21m23s

Source: Motorsport.com Image: Motorsport images