Monday Motorsports - Dakar Rally Underway in Argentina - NYTimes.com Carlos Sousa of Portugal, driving a Chinese-made Haval H8, which looks something like a BMW X3, took the victory Sunday in the first stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally, which ran from Rosario to San Luis, Argentina. He was closely trailed by three entrants in all-wheel-drive Minis. Sousa completed the stage in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 36 seconds, and was scored 11 seconds quicker than Argentina's Orlando Terranova. Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar came in third. The American drivers, Robby Gordon, in a Hummer, and B.J. Baldwin, in a Chevrolet, were well down in the order after early troubles set them back. Honda's Joan Barreda clocked in at 2:25:31, with fellow Spaniard Marc Coma, on a KTM, 37 seconds behind in the motorcycle stage, which was run on a different route. The rally continues until Jan. 18, with stages through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. In other racing news: ■ Authorities in France said Sunday that they would be interested in contacting a man who said he had inadvertently recorded Michael Schumacher's recent skiing accident on his cellphone camera. Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One champion, has been in a medically induced coma since falling and hitting his head on a rock during a ski run on Dec. 29 near Méribel, France. Schumacher, who turned 45 on Friday, is in a hospital in Grenoble, where he is listed in critical but stable condition. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, contacted a German newsmagazine last week to say that he was filming his companion at the ski resort when he caught Schumacher's accident occurring in the background of his shot. His account seemed to corroborate statements from Schumacher's spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, that speed was not a factor in the severity of the injuries. Schumacher was wearing a helmet, which was credited with saving his life. ■ Street racing is being blamed for the crash that killed Paul Walker, the "Fast & Furious" star, and Roger Rodas, his friend and business partner, in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Nov. 30. An autopsy report issued by the Los Angeles County Coroner's office last week said that the Porsche Carrera GT in which the men were traveling exceeded speeds of 100 miles per hour on city streets with a posted speed limit of 45 m.p.h. when the accident occurred. Rodas, the driver, apparently lost control, and the Porsche hit trees, curbs and a light pole before exploding into flames. Rodas suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Walker's autopsy report said he was still breathing when the car came to a stop. Walker, however, had suffered extensive injuries and multiple fractures. His official cause of death was listed as "traumatic and thermal injuries." The crash was officially determined to be "an accident" caused by Rodas losing control for "unknown reasons." ■ Robert Kubica, the former Formula One driver, won the season-opening European Rally Championship event, the Janner Rally, in northern Austria on Sunday. Kubica, who nearly lost his forearm in a 2011 rally crash that threatened his career, began the final stage in second place but drove a furious pace in his M-Sport Ford to make up ground on the race leader, Vaclav Pech, and to win by a 19.9-second margin. ■ Christian Fittipaldi recorded the fastest practice time in three days of testing for the coming 24-hour endurance race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Fittipaldi, driving a prototype Corvette, made his run in the opening session on Daytona's 3.56-mile road course. The 24-hour race, which begins Jan. 25, is the inaugural race in the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship, which features elements of the former Grand Am and American Le Mans racing series.