BARCELONA, Spain, 1 January 2005 — American Robby Gordon, driving a Volkswagen, won the first stage of the Dakar rally, a 6km super special, on the Castelldefels beach near Barcelona yesterday.
It was a first ever victory by an American in the car category of the rally. He clocked 4min 20.2sec to beat Japan’s Hiroshi Masuoka, the winner in 2002 and 2003, by 2.7sec and South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers by 3.5sec.
“It wasnt easy because the sand was really soft after the jumps. I was really excited at the start especially with such a crowd. I feel lucky to be here,” said Gordon, a former NASCAR and Champ Car driver in the United States.
Former world rally champion Colin McRae finished in eighth place in a Nissan with defending champion Stephane Peterhansel, in a Mitsubushi, in ninth place.
France’s David Fretigne, riding a Yamaha, won the motorbike race, clocking 4min 11.6sec to edge out KTM riders Cyril Despres of France by 8.1sec and Dutchman Eric Verhoef by 13sec.
Following this special stage, the competitors must complete a 17km untimed section back to Barcelona from where they will start today’s 920km, second stage to Granada in the south.
In total, 686 vehicles, with 463 racing, are officially taking part in this 27th edition of the rally. There are 164 cars, 230 motorbikes, including six quads and a side-car, and 69 lorries competing, plus 223 support vehicles. The 8,956km, 16-stage event goes through Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali before finishing in Senegal capital city Dakar on Jan. 16.
