Roma, Casteu lead opening stage; Chinese veteran Lu finishes 58th

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Nani Roma won the first stage of the Dakar Rally in a BMW and David Casteu of France led home the bikes on a Saturday marred by the first death of a fan in four years.

Roma finished the shortened stage from Colon to Cordoba 2 minutes, 7 seconds ahead of Spanish countryman Carlos Sainz in a Volkswagen and 2:50 in front of BMW teammate Stephane Peterhansel. Giniel De Villiers of South Africa, the 2009 champion, was 4:31 off the lead in a Volkswagen.

"It's only just the start," Roma said. "We haven't really had a battle with the VWs yet. There is still a lot of the race to go. In any case, it was a good special stage for warming up."

The stage was trimmed by 50 kilometers (30 miles) to 199 kilometers (124 miles) because of flooding at the start, and Peterhansel, a nine-time winner of the Dakar, led early. But Roma, who won the race on a motorbike in 2004, took over the lead after about 50 km (30 miles), and kept extending it, while Sainz passed Peterhansel after the midpoint.

Casteu won the 168-km (104-mile) bike stage in 1 hour, 50 minutes, 42 seconds, only three seconds ahead of fellow French rider Cyril Despres and 12 seconds in front of Spanish rider Marc Coma. Despres and Coma, who have shared victories in the past four Dakars, swapped leads until Casteu came through at the end.

Casteu, a former teammate of Despres but riding for French constructor Sherco, said he was urged by his mechanic before the stage "to make an impact".

"So I attacked, attacked and attacked," Casteu said. "I had a great time."

Chinese veteran Lu Ningjun, who is making his sixth trip to the Dakar Rally, was the best Chinese driver after the first stage, finishing 58th in a China-made Chery's Rely X5. After a slow start, Lu completed the 199-km route in 2 hours 52 minutes and 53 seconds, 41 minutes and 38 second slower than the stage winner Roma. Teammate Jiang Yaohuan, also at the wheels of Rely X5, finished 71st, 48 minutes and 19 second behind Lu.

Three other Chinese, Zhu Jinzhong, Zhao Yongguo and Zhou Yong, were 115th, 116th and 120th after the first stage.

In the motorcycling division, China's Wei Guanghui and Su Wenmin were 133rd and 138th.

Reuters/China Daily

(China Daily 01/04/2010 page23)