Dakar winner demoted for driving too fast

The Dakar Rally first stage winner has been disqualified for driving too fast, while a breakdown has demolished the hopes of defending champ Nani Roma.

Qatar driver Nasser Al-Attiyah

Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Mini has won the 170 kilometre first stage of the Dakar Rally. (AAP)

Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah has been stripped of victory in the opening stage of the Dakar Rally for exceeding the speed limit.

Mini driver Al-Attiyah - the 2011 champion - finished first on the 170km timed stage between Buenos Aires and Villa Carlos Paz in 1 hour, 12 minutes.

That was 22 seconds faster than Argentina's Orlando Terranova, also in a Mini, and 1:04 ahead of American Robby Gordon behind the wheel of a Hummer.

But seven hours later, Al-Attiyah was punished for travelling at 68km/h in a section of the stage where the limit was 50km/h.

He was penalised two minutes and relegated to seventh place on the stage, with Terranova declared the winner ahead of Gordon and South Africa's Giniel de Villiers in a Toyota.

Veteran Peugeot drivers Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel placed eighth and 10th respectively at 2:06 and 2:35.

It was also a miserable first day for defending champion Nani Roma as the Spaniard's Mini broke down after just 10km and he eventually ended the day being towed home in 135th place and six and a half hours off the lead.

In the motorbike section, Britain's Sam Sunderland on a KTM was fastest in 1:18:57, 0:05 faster than Paulo Goncalves of Portugal on a Honda and 1:12 ahead of last year's winner Marc Coma on a KTM.

This year's rally features a gruelling 9000km trek through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia before arriving back in Buenos Aires for a January 17 finish.

Former winners Sainz and Peterhansel were spearheading the Peugeot campaign as the French car-makers returned to the Dakar Rally for the first time in 25 years.

This year's event, the seventh in South America since its enforced transfer for security reasons from Africa, is the 37th of all time.


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Source: AAP


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