Ruben Faria won the opening stage of the 2011 Dakar Rally for KTM.

Red Bull KTM’s Ruben Faria has taken out the opening day of the 2011 Dakar Rally, adding it to his victory in the 14th and final stage of last year.

In 2010, he left the Dakar with a feeling of full accomplishment after helping Cyril Despres win the race and winning the very last special stage on the road to Buenos Aires.

A little less than a year later, Faria is still racing with the same wingman mission and he took on the task zealously and efficiently.

Intent on sticking as closely as possible to his leader in the rankings, the Portuguese rider who had started in the 11th position today managed to tease four contenders on the way and crossed the finish line with the best time.

“I did better today than many great riders with different riding styles and it is already a good point of reference,” he commented. “I am also very happy to see that my team-mate Cyril Despres also made excellent time.”

The duet seems pretty close to perfection as Cyril Despres ends the day with the second fastest clock and finishes 28 minutes behind Faria.

However, the competition is pretty close as Marc Coma – in charge of opening the road this morning – is only 1:15 behind Faria, and 46 minutes behind Despres.

The Catalan can also be proud of his new wingman and ally, as Juan Pedrero – promoted this year to the position of single support to Coma – finishes fourth of the day’s special stage.

Hence, as of tomorrow morning, the man will also be able to position himself as close as possible to his leader, to intervene in case of trouble.

The hierarchy now established between Victoria and Cordoba also provides some indication about the KTM wizardry that has allowed the team to find the operating recipe for its brand new 450cc.

Indeed, the Austrian firm has achieved the four first places in the day’s rankings. The contending bikes – which are a good minute behind them – are the BMW, Yamaha and Aprilia, respectively driven by Paulo Gonçalves, Jonah Street and Francisco Lopez.

Of the Aussies, Jacob Smith finished the stage in 31st position, while Simon Pavey was 54th, Warren Strange 86th and Mark Davidson 108th.

Stage Two takes them from Cordoba north to San Miguel de Tucuman over 440km of road and a special of 300km. They will enter forested areas and encounter a track that organisers say will offer plenty of jumps.

2011 Dakar Rally
Stage 1 Results
1. Ruben Faria KTM
2. Cyril Despres KTM
3. Marc Coma KTM
4. Juan Pedrero KTM
5. Paolo Goncalves BMW
31. Jacob Smith Honda
54. Simon Pavey BMW
86. Warren Strange Honda
108. Mark Davidson Honda

Click here for detailed results