ROSARIO: Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb safely negotiated the prologue of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, which was later interrupted when a car veered off the road and left three spectators seriously injured.
Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke, driving a Toyota, claimed victory in the prologue, taking 6min 08sec to cover the 11km special, beating Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) and Xavier Pons (Ford Ranger).
"It's amazing! We went really fast and made no mistakes. Not bad at all," said ten Brinke, who quickly sounded a note of realism.
"That was just 11 kilometres, the real Dakar starts tomorrow, and it'll be good to start at the front. The week will be really tough, with long stages and sizzling temperatures. The top priority is to have a strong Dakar, not to win the first stage."
Among the other favourites, defending champion Nasser al-Attiyah (Mini) finished in fourth place, 5sec off the pace, with Nani Roma and Mikko Hirvonen, also racing for Mini, in sixth and seventh places respectively.
Loeb, seeking to follow in the footsteps of Ari Vatanen, who won the Dakar in his first attempt in 1987, back when it was raced in Africa, finished in 10th place after an uneventful start to the stage.
"It was important to clear the prologue and avoid any mistakes on the first day," said Loeb, driving a Peugeot 2008 DKR, having raced almost exclusively for another French manufacturer, Citroen.
"I haven't got any specific concerns, everything is going smoothly. We'll see how it goes in longer specials.
"I did what I could, but I didn't want to be at the front anyway, that wasn't my goal. I spent some time in the dust kicked up by a motorcycle racing in front of me, I'm not exactly sure why, but I had to overtake it."
The prologue was later "neutralised" after a car driven by China's Guo Meiling veered off the road into four spectators at the 6.6km mark.
Race organisers deployed four medical helicopters, three medical vehicles belonging to the organisers and eight local ambulances to the scene of the accident.
"Injured individuals are likely to be swiftly taken to hospitals in the area following an initial medical evaluation by the organisers' medical teams on the site," organisers said.
Sunday's first stage is between Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz.
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