How did the Dakar Rally prologue unfold?
4th January 2026The Dakar Rally officially got underway on Saturday, igniting the start of the 2026 motorsport season, and the event’s prologue was not without issue for some of the competitors.
Feature image credit: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool
The opening stage, the Dakar prologue, took place on Saturday with a 95km loop that left Yanbu and returned to the Saudi Arabian city. Not only does it stand as a warm up to the event, but it also plays an important role in helping determine the starting order for Sunday’s first big stage.
However, the opening day was not without issue for some as Overdrive Racing’s Chileian crew, Hernan Farces and Juan Pablo Latrach got stuck on a rock during the stage. They managed to free themselves and finish the stage.
Thanks to their troubles, they finished the stage 30 minutes behind the leader, putting them 197th overall.
One place behind the Chilean crew – in the overall standings – was Daniel Schroder and Henry Carl Kohne, of PS Laser Racing, who endured a crash on the prologue. The pair rolled at high speed with their Prototype stopping on the roof.
So who was in top form after the prologue?
Bikes
It was a strong start for Red Bull KTM Factory as Edgar Canet led teammate Daniel Sanders after the opening stage, ahead of the main event, separated only by three seconds.
USA’s Ricky Brabec, of Monster Energy Honda, completed the top three, five seconds behind.
This left the Argentine Luciano Benavides, Red Bull KTM, and Hero Motosports Ross Branch to round out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Car
Similar to Red Bull, it was a good start for the Ford team, who occupied the top two spots with Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist and Mitch Guthrie/Kellon Walch, respectively.
The two Ford teammates were only separated by eight seconds, with X-Raid’s Guillaume de Mevius and Mathieu Baumel finishing in third, also eight seconds behind.
Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Lurquin, in the Dacia Sandriders, and Seth Quintero/Andrew Short of Toyota Gazoo Racing rounding out the top five, respectively.
Trucks
Eurol RallySport dutch crew of Mitchel van den Brink, Bart Van Heun and Jarno van de Pol completed the opening test at the top of the standings, accompanied by fellow countrymen Gety Huzink, Hugo Kupper and Germany’s Mario Kress in third, for Kuipers Johngloed Hybrid.
This left Nordis Team’s Vaidotas Zala, Paulo Fiuza and Max van Grol to fill in the gap in second.
Two all-Czech crews, Buggyra ZM Racing and Instatrade Loprais Team, rounded out the top five, respectively.
Dakar Rally 2026: Schedule and route for Saudi Arabian event
Sunday will see the crews remain within the Yanbu region, but they will ace a staggering 518km of Saudi Arabian terrain to complete the day’s action.
Read more Rally Raid here:
- Dakar Rally 2026: Schedule and route for Saudi Arabian event
- Dakar 2025: Problematic roadbook note affects crews
- Dakar 2025 Heads Al Duwadimi as the rally resumes and Branch airlifted
- Dakar Rally 2025: Stage 5 completed as crews arrive in Hail to complete week 1
- Dakar 2025: Rally moves north as Sebastien Loeb rolls
Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
