Dakar has changed its roadbook philosophy in recent years, with the pacenotes handed out to crews just minutes before the start of each stage instead of the previous evening. This leaves co-drivers with no time to make their own additions to the roadbook, meaning they rely entirely on the information provided by the organiser.
“We don't have any problem having the digital roadbook given in the morning,” said three-time Dakar champion Sainz. “What is the problem is that there are no mistakes in the roadbook. What is important in my point of view is that the roadbooks are not done in a way that you don't need to interpret the roadbook.
Sainz was one of the biggest losers that day as he dropped over two hours to the leaders, leaving him out of contention for victory on Audi’s debut outing, while team-mate Mattias Ekstrom was also caught out by the same waypoint. “I understand the race has to be won by the best driver, by the best team, by the best car and the quickest,” he said. “It cannot be a co-driver's race where depending upon how you interpret the roadbook you win or lose the race.