They came first in the first lap of both the cars and bikes races.

Portugal has got up to a good start in the 2007 edition of the Paris-Dakar motor race. Portugal's Carlos Sousa and Ruben Faria secured a home double as they triumphed in the first stage of the 2007 Dakar Rally from Lisbon to Portimao.

Sousa, who was driving a Volkswagen car, came first covering the 73 mile distance in one hour, 20 minutes and 38 seconds. He was followed by a South African, Giniel De Villiers and Carlos Sainz of Spain who came third. It is worthy to note that Volkswagen claimed the first five places in the car category.

In the motorbike category, Ruben Faria finished in one hour, 22 minutes and 7 seconds to beat Yamaha team-mate, Helder Rodriguez by 0.16 of a second.

The 15-stage race, which lasts 16 days finishes in Senegal on 21 January. It has a record number of competitors this year with 525 teams and 42 nationalities represented. In all, 250 motorcycles, 187 cars and 88 trucks started the 4,918-mile race through Europe and Africa. The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as "The Paris Dakar Rally") is an annual off-road race, organized by the Amaury Sports organization. The race is open to amateur and professional entries; amateurs typically make up about eighty percent of the participants.