HAIL: Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah won the first special of the Dakar Rally on Sunday to extend his race lead after victory in the prologue. The 51-year-old, looking to win the race for the fourth time, finished the stage 12 minutes and seven seconds quicker than nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in second place. The 333-kilometre loop around northern Saudi Arabia saw several competitors suffer navigational difficulties, resulting in large time gaps. Record 14-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel, nicknamed “Monsieur Dakar”, lost a lot of time after losing a wheel of his Audi. The Frenchman could now decide to withdraw from the race after having to wait for several hours for assistance. Australian Daniel Sanders extended his early advantage in the bikes category, beating Chilean Pablo Quintanilla by 3mins and 7secs on Sunday.