Qatari driver now up to third overall as Russian Sotnikov extends truck lead.

Three-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah held his nerve on Monday’s Stage Two to claw back time on rivals Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz in the car standings as Russian Dmitry Sotnikov extended his truck lead. Here is all you need to know:

– Stage Two served up dunes for the first time from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir and featured 457km against the clock with the change of terrain having a massive impact on the leaderboards.

– Al-Attiyah hit back from a difficult Sunday Stage One – where he finished 10th – to win on Monday by two minutes and 35 seconds from Frenchman Peterhansel with defending champion Sainz just under 10 minutes back from the Qatari driver on the day.

– Al-Attiyah, 50, who lies nine minutes and 14 seconds back from 13-time Dakar winner Peterhansel, revealed: “Yesterday we lost a lot of time because we opened the stage and it was so tough. Today we went flat out from start to finish and everything worked really well.”

– Kuba Przygoński and Sébastien Loeb have established themselves in the Top 10, while 2009 champion Giniel De Villiers and Cyril Despres remain in the hunt.

– The truck category saw Russian Sotnikov extend his lead to 17m14s from Belarus’ Siarhei Viazovich after he won by 4m17s on the day over compatriot and fellow Kamaz Master driver Airat Mardeev with Ignacio Casale seventh overall on his return to trucks.

– The lead changed hands in the Lightweight Vehicles category with Chile’s Chaleco López now holding top spot with Cristina Gutiérrez down to fourth overall.

– Gutiérrez’s fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team drivers Seth Quintero and Mitch Guthrie Jr. completed the stage, as did DTM and WRX star Mattias Ekström.

– Lopez, 45, said: “I got stuck in the dunes at the beginning of the stage, but then I was able to pass the leading riders on the fast section.”

– It was a tough day for former bike champions Toby Price, Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner as they all lost ground with Austrian Walkner over two hours back.

– Australian Price faced navigation challenges, then suffered a fuel tank issue while Briton Sunderland conceded over 20 minutes to leader Joan Barreda.

– Two-time winner Price, 33, explained: “I had to conserve fuel because I only had my front tanks. It was tough, but it’s something we can sort out tonight.”

– Sunderland, 31, added: “It’s not easy to have a mistake free run. There’s so many canyons out there and if miss the entrance of the right one by 30 metres you end up in the wrong canyon.”

– Spaniard Laia Sanz – the top placed female biker at the previous 10 editions – is out to keep her impressive record intact while Daniel Sanders, Stefan Svitko, Camille Chapelière, CS Santosh and Mohammed Jaffar are still on course to match their personal goals at the 2021 Dakar.

– There are more dunes in Tuesday’s Stage Three as the 403km timed special stage will skirt the edges of the notorious Empty Quarter desert before returning to the Wadi Ad-Dawasir bivouac.

Overall ranking after stage 2

Car
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) X-Raid Mini 07h17m18s
2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) X-Raid Mini +00h06m37s
3. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) Toyota Gazoo +00h09m14s

Bike
1. Joan Barreda Bort (ESP) Honda 08h15m38s
2. Ricky Brabec (USA) Honda +00h06m23s
3. Ross Branch (BWA) Yamaha +00h06m37s

Truck
1. Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS) Kamaz Master 08h01m39s
2. Siarhei Viazovich (BLR) Maz Sportauto +00h17m14s
3. Anton Shibalov (RUS) Kamaz Master +00h22m03s

Lightweight vehicle
1. Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) Can-Am 08h58m13s
2. Aron Domzala (POL) Can-Am +00h00m39s
3. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP) Can-Am +00h01m01s

  • Laia Sanz (ESP) from GasGas Factory Racing Team races during stage 02 of Rally Dakar2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad Dewasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021 // Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040086 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stefan Svitko (SVK) of Slovnaft Rally Team races during stage 02 of Rally Dakar2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad Dewasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021 // Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040090 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Carlos Sainz (ESP) for X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040098 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Anton Shibalov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040101 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cyril Despres (FRA) for Abu Dhabi Racing Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040103 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Cristina Gutierrez Herrero (ESP) for Red Bull off-road team USA races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040106 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS) for KAMAZ Master races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040108 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Ignacio Casale (CHL) for TATRA BUGGYRA RACING races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040109 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) for South Racing Can-Am team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040112 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Matthias Walkner (AUT) for Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040113 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Mattias Ekstrom (SWE) for Yamaha powered by X-Raid team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040117 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Jakub Przygonski (POL) for Orlen Team Overdrive races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040118 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sam Sunderland (GBR) for Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040121 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sebastien Loeb (FRA) for Bahrain Raid XTreme races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040122 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Seth Quintero (USA) for RedBull off-road team USA races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040123 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040124 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) for X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040126 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Seth Quintero and Dennis Henz on the Buggy OT3 of the Red Bull Offroad Team USA races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040128 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Dmitry Sotnikov, Ruslan Akhmadeev and Ilgiz Akhmetzianov in the Kamaz of the KAMAZ Master Team races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040134 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Andrey Karginov, Andrey Mokeev and Igor Leonov in the Kamaz of the KAMAZ Master Team races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040138 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel in the Toyota Hilux of the Toyota Gazoo Racing races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040141 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in the Mini Buggy of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040147 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in the Hunter of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme Team during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040148 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Airat Mardeev, Dmitriy Svistunov and Akhmet Galiautdinov in the Kamaz of the KAMAZ Master Team races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040150 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in the Hunter of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme Team during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040157 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Stephane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger in the Mini Buggy of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040158 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Toby Price on his KTM of the Red Bull KTM Factory Teamm races during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Al Dawasir, in Saudi Arabia on January 4, 2021. // Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040163 // Usage for editorial use only //
  • Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during stage 2 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia on January 04, 2021. // Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool // SI202101040116 // Usage for editorial use only //