The first stage of this 2024 Dakar Rally had the distinction for the Portuguese António Maio of being the third rider to start the 405 km race against the clock that connected Alula to Al Henakiyah. It was a thankless task that the Yamaha rider overcame quite satisfactorily, spending 5h47m37s to cover an innovative route.
“It was a tough day. The stage had a lot of stones. I chose to drive a little more calmly because I was third on the track and I didn't want to make any navigation errors. I caught the rider who started ahead of me, and we went together for a while, but then a faster zone came and he started to move away. The bike behaved very well, and I had no major problems. It was, as I said, a stage with a lot of rocks and also dangerous, so I chose to go at a calmer pace. I hope that tomorrow's stage won't have so many stones and that it will be more my way, but we're going stage by stage and the important thing is to get to the end, doing the most appropriate management so that everything goes well”, said António Maio, who continues to suffer from flu but rose six positions in the general classification, where he occupies 32nd position and 19th among Rally GP riders.
Tomorrow, January 7th, the second stage of the Dakar Rally will take place, starting competitors on the sand as they will have to overcome 30 km of dunes that day. 470 timed km will be contested in this stage that connects Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi.
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Antonio Maio's official press release
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