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Valencian Tosha Schareina tunes his motorcycle in the Dakar. AFP
Schareina concludes the first part of the Dakar with intact prospects

Schareina concludes the first part of the Dakar with intact prospects

The Valencian rider has taken advantage of a double penalty to Daniel Sanders to finish the marathon before the rest day seven minutes behind. In cars, Al-Attiyah lost an epic comeback after being penalised.

David Sánchez de Castro

Jueves, 9 de enero 2025, 18:25

The Dakar 2025 is becoming unmanageable. In a week that has been a nightmare for all competitors, with notable withdrawals such as Carlos Sainz, Nani Roma, and Sebastien Loeb, highlighting the toughness of this edition, one must look at the motorcycle standings to see that Tosha Schareina is the Spaniard whose candidacy shines the brightest.

The Valencian is having a memorable participation in this raid. Even starting from the top zone in the second part of the marathon, contested this weekend over nearly 500 kilometres of dunes and dirt, has not been a major impediment. Despite not winning, he settled for a seventh place at the finish, almost five and a half minutes behind the day's winner, Argentine Luciano Benavides, who took advantage of his rivals' difficulties, such as a two-minute penalty for Adrien Van Beveren (who thus lost the partial victory but climbed to the partial podium) or Daniel Sanders, who, although still the overall leader, is feeling the challenges.

The Australian had the victory in his grasp, as he crossed the finish line first with ease and even with a bonus of five minutes and 42 seconds. His initial result allowed him to rest with more than a quarter-hour margin over Schareina, whom he had surpassed by just over a minute and a half. It seemed like a dream result, as it was the largest lead he had had so far. However, this Dakar seems to want neither owner nor conqueror, as not one, not two, but three-time penalties for as many speeding offences in prohibited areas handed him a penalty of eight minutes and ten seconds. He holds the lead, but not as much as he wanted.

For Schareina, it is a more than decent result, and his participation in this Dakar so far allows him to aim high.

A blow for Al-Attiyah

Those who have followed the Dakar for years and know Nasser Al Attiyah's career know that if he were a footballer, he would be an Italian from the 1980s. The 'catenaccio' brought to motorsport: defensive, without attacking, and playing offensively only when he is sure he can score a goal.

That was the tactic he assumed this Thursday before the rest day. On the way to Ha'il, where the camp is set for the next two days, the Qatari champion showed that his Dacia could be a champion if luck and skill accompany him. Unlike his teammates, like the already retired Loeb or Cristina Gutiérrez, Al Attiyah had not faced too many problems so far. In fact, if it weren't for the Burgos native on Wednesday, he might not still be in the competition.

But this Thursday, Al Attiyah showed his teeth. From the start of the stage, he took the necessary risks to try to secure his 49th partial victory, a milestone as he would be one away from the absolute record of stage wins held by Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen. Moreover, had he won this Thursday, he would have become the only one to win at least one stage in 18 consecutive editions. And so it was for a few seconds.

Al-Attiyah took the lead of the stage before reaching the first refuelling point around kilometre 150, with Gutiérrez as a shield riding very close to him, ready to intervene if necessary. When he took the lead of the stage, everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Barely an hour after reaching the finish line, the FIA wielded the axe and penalised him with a ten-minute penalty for finishing the day without a spare wheel. The blow was total, as he not only lost the stage victory by just one second to Seth Quintero, who claimed his second in this 2025, but also Henk Lategan completely neutralised the comeback that Al-Attiyah had achieved. After leaving Al-Ula with a 35-minute and 53-second delay compared to the South African and initially managing to stay below the mental barrier of half an hour, the penalty meant he only trimmed that fringe of 53 seconds. In the overall standings, Al-Attiyah remains fourth, fifteen minutes behind Matthias Ekstrom's Ford and exactly 35 minutes behind Lategan.

With seven stages still ahead, Al-Attiyah will have to suffer if he wants to win another year. He has already realised that this is not going to be an easy Dakar, and after gathering strength on this Friday's rest day, he will try to show that, besides defending, he also knows how to bite if necessary.

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todoalicante Schareina concludes the first part of the Dakar with intact prospects