Al-Attiyah calls for change to Dakar format after “boring” opening stages

Nasser Al-Attiyah He believes the Dakar Rally should change its format after deeming Saturday’s opening stage “boring” due to the need to prioritize strategy over results.

The 2025 edition began with a tough and “pure” 431 km test around Bisha in Saudi Arabia, but several drivers improved their results to secure better starting positions for the 48-hour marathon stage covering Sunday and Monday. Decided to compromise.

Five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah stopped in the desert for about 10 minutes to allow other drivers to overtake him, and dropped from 10th to 21st in the day’s final stage.

This means he will not open up the gravel roads to his rivals on Sunday and will take advantage of tracks laid by other drivers.

But, while in theory this should have put the new Dacia recruit in a position of strength, the Qatari revealed that he was not a fan of this format and the impact it would have on the competition.

“We have to change the rules because if you push and win, you have a chance to win, it’s a good idea,” Al-Attiyah said.

“I think people will understand because today is not really fun, we just drive leisurely, and it’s boring, there is no competition, I hope the rule can change”.

Dakar introduced the so-called Chrono Stage for the first time in 2024, replacing the previous marathon special. However, in 2025 its length has been increased to approximately 1,000 km, while it has also been moved from the second week of the rally to the start of the event.

This meant that the prologue and Saturday’s preliminary test effectively served as 48 hours of preparation for the revised stage.

Describing his strategy for the day in light of the changes, Al-Attiyah said: “The stage was long, there was a lot of navigation, thanks to (co-driver) Edouard (Boulanger) because he did good navigation.

“Our navigation tablet broke and we covered about 300 kilometers with only one, we tried to manage and follow the competitors, but in the last 10 kilometers we stopped for 10 minutes, just to take a break. (laughs), so that the experience of last year (where he suffered a big setback in Stage 1) does not happen again.”

Many other drivers, including the Ford driver, also slowed down in the run from the final checkpoint Carlos Sainz Sr. Who finished seventh but dropped to eighth after a 10s penalty for exceeding the speed limit

Al-Attiyah is almost 10 minutes behind Sainz and three minutes behind rally leader Seth Quintero (Toyota).

The five-time winner admitted it would not be until the second half of the marathon stage that he could close the gap to the leaders in the Ultimate category.

“We are now in 21st place and only 10 minutes (actually 13) behind first place,” he said.

“There should be a major attack tomorrow for the full 48 hours so that at least the fourth phase can be done in Bisha in good time. It won’t be easy to catch 21 cars, you will catch up to 10 cars, but there are still 10 cars in front of you, because we are not going crazy.

“We have to manage the first section until the gold, and on the second day we will see if we have 100, 150 or 200 kilometers, and we will decide not to force it.

“Yes, we lost only seven minutes (actually 10) to Carlos, but Carlos starts from seventh and I start from the front, we are separated by more than twenty minutes (on the road). I’m happy with the situation. , And we need to drive the car very well, we need to manage tomorrow.