Al-Attiyah calls for changes to Dakar format after “boring” opening stage

Nasser Al-Attiyah believes the Dakar Rally must change its format after finding Saturday’s opening stage “boring” due to the need of prioritising strategy over results.

The 2025 edition began with a tough and “pure” 431km test around Bisha in Saudi Arabia, but several drivers elected to compromise their result to secure a better starting position for the 48-hour marathon stage that covers Sunday and Monday.

Five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah even stopped in the desert for almost 10 minutes to allow other drivers to pass him, dropping from 10th to 21st place in the final stretch of the day.

It means he will not open the gravel roads for his rivals on Sunday and will take advantage of the tracks laid out by other drivers.

But, while this should theoretically put the new Dacia recruit in a strong position, the Qatari revealed he was not fond of the format and the impact it had on the competition.

“We have to change the rule because if you push and win, you have a chance to win, this is a good idea,” said Al-Attiyah. 

“I think people would understand because today is not really fun, we just drive easy, and it is boring, there is no competition, I hope the rule can change”.

Those thoughts were echoed by Nani Roma. The Ford driver finished 17th after suffering mechanical problems and suggested that the Stage 1 winner should start the 48-hour test from last.

This, he believes, would have incentivised drivers to treat Saturday’s special as any other stage and go out for the top spot.

“It has to be changed,” Roma said. “Whoever wins, let the Ultimate start last, I don’t understand why the FIA can’t understand it, we proposed it to them and they didn’t understand why.

“I said ‘because there are people who are going to stop, others who may cheat, others who may call to see how they are doing…why don’t we have the one who wins go out last’?

“This is racing and the one who wins should have the benefit of victory. I hope they change it, the FIA has to understand why.”

#227 Ford M-Sport Ford: Nani Roma, Alex Haro

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“In this circus, we are the clowns,” he added, “and if we all have the same idea, it is because we are right, but that’s it now.”

Dakar introduced the so-called chrono stage for the first time in 2024, replacing the previous marathon special. However, in 2025, its length has been increased to almost a 1,000km, while it has also been moved from the second week of the rally to the very beginning of the event.

This meant that Prologue and Saturday’s opening test effectively served as preparation for the revamped 48-hour stage.

Explaining his strategy for the day in light of the changes, Al-Attiyah said: “The stage was long, a lot of navigation, thanks to [co-driver] Edouard [Boulanger], because he did good navigation. 

“Our navigation tablet broke and we did about 300 kilometres with only one, we tried to manage and follow the competitors, but in the last 10 kilometres we stopped for 10 minutes, just to have a break [laughs], so as not to repeat last year’s experience [where he suffered a big setback in Stage 1].”

Several other drivers also slowed down in the run from the penultimate checkpoint, including Ford driver Carlos Sainz Sr who finished seventh but classified eighth after a 10s penalty for exceeding the speed limit

#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Al-Attiyah trails Sainz by around 10 minutes and sits a further three minutes adrift of rally leader Seth Quintero (Toyota).

The five-time winner admitted that it will not be until the second part of the marathon stage that he closes the gap to the frontrunners in the Ultimate class.

“Now we are in 21st position, and only 10 minutes [actually 13] behind the first place,” he said.

“Tomorrow should be a big attack for the whole 48 hours to at least have a good time for the fourth stage in Bisha. It won’t be easy to catch up to 21 cars, you’ll catch up to 10 cars, but you still have 10 in front of you, because we’re not going crazy.

“We have to manage the first section until we sleep, and on the second day we’ll see if we have like 100, 150 or 200 kilometres, and we’ll decide not to force [it].

“Yes, we lost only seven minutes [actually 10] to Carlos, but Carlos starts seventh and I start further back, we are separated by more than twenty minutes or so [on the road]. I’m happy with the position, and we need to make the car work very well, we need to manage tomorrow.”