Last year’s Bike champion Sam Sunderland picked up where he left off by setting the quickest time in the first special. The Red Bull KTM Factory Team rider finished ahead of Adrien van Beveren (Yamaha) and Paul Quintanilla (Husqvarna). Fourth place went to Spain’s Joan Barreda (Honda). His team-mate and fellow Dakar champion Toby Price, who is still recovering from the severe injury that ended his 2017 campaign, finished the special in 14th place.

Sam Sunderland: “I’m happy to have start strongly, but it’s only 30 kilometers, so it doesn’t mean much, it's only the first day of a long race. I went on the attack, of course, because we’re in a race! The title and I start with a victory, which is fantastic!”