Carlos Sousa takes the heat in Dakar Rally stage 1 victory

Sousa, of Portugal, finished the 180-kilometer special from Rosario to San Luis in first followed by Argentina’s Orlando Terranova and Qatar’s 2011 champion Nasser Al Attiyah.

Portugal’s Carlos Sousa powers along in his Haval during Stage 1 at the Rally Dakar in Argentina. Franck Fife / AFP

Portugal’s Carlos Sousa, driving a Haval, claimed the opening stage of the 36th Dakar Rally on Sunday, but double defending champion Stephane Peterhansel lost time after suffering a puncture.

Sousa finished the 180km special from Rosario to San Luis in 2hr 20min 36sec with Argentina’s Orlando Terranova, in a Mini, 11 seconds behind and fellow Mini driver, Qatar’s 2011 champion Nasser Al Attiyah, in third, 47 seconds back.

Sousa said he “suffered” after his Chinese-made Haval over-heated, sending dirty air into the driver’s compartment.

“Our car doesn’t have air conditioning and all the air inlets got clogged. After 50 kilometres, the turbo air outlet broke down and sent all the air directly towards me,” he said.

“It must have got hotter than 70°C and we had trouble breathing. The reason I drove so fast was that I wanted to get out of that inferno, but I really thought we wouldn’t make it.

“We suffered like dogs to earn it.”

France’s Peterhansel, in a third Mini, and seeking a 12th overall title (after six on motorcycles and five in cars), suffered a puncture and was down in sixth place, 4min 21sec behind Sousa.

“At 30km before the finish we had a flat tyre. Apart from the flat, I had good feelings with the car and the special. True, it wasn’t a great start, since losing three minutes in such a short special is nothing to write home about, but it’s a start nonetheless,” said Peterhansel.

Honda’s Joan Barreda clocked a time of 2hr 25min 31sec to take the motorcycle stage with Spanish compatriot Marc Coma, on a KTM, 37 seconds behind.

Frenchman Cyril Despres, the defending champion and seeking a sixth career title, was in third, 1min 40sec off the provisional leader.

“I’m really happy with the first stage. At the beginning I had some trouble easing into the race due to a slight problem with the suspension, but afterwards everything went smoothly,” said Barreda.

This year, 431 vehicles, taking part in the auto, motorbike, quad and lorry events, will cross Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

But they could run into environmental protests along the way with fears over the impact of the race on the world’s highest salt flats at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, despite only the motorcycles being allowed to cross into the country.

In Chile, concerns have been raised over possible damage caused by the vehicles roaring over the Inca Trail.