The first stage of Dakar started as it should, with the bikes tackling the 405km timed run to reach the second of the bivouacs at Al Henakiyah. However, the evacuation helicopter was called into action very early on at the 82km mark after Hero rider Joaquim Rodrigues suffered an accident, which Joan Barreda and Sebastian Buhler had to attend to.
Shortly afterwards, however, the race was stopped in the car category because of an incident with the first of the vehicles. It is believed that Overdrive driver Baud had a problem with one of the spectators who was watching the special and had to be taken to the nearest hospital.
