YANBU, Saudi Arabia — Edgar Canet picked up his maiden special on his very first RallyGP outing. According to the available records, this makes the 20-year-old Spaniard the youngest winner of a motorbike stage in the history of the Dakar.
The KTM factory rider ended up 3 seconds ahead of his teammate Daniel Sanders and 5 seconds clear of their Honda rival Ricky Brabec. Riding yet another factory machine from the orange team, Luciano Benavides claimed fourth place at 11 seconds. KTM, the reigning champions, could not have asked for a better start.
The Rally2 prologue saw Michael Docherty repeat his performance from 2023 at the Sea Camp in Yanbu. The South African, sixth overall at 19 seconds, took the spoils in his class with 26 seconds to spare over Tobias Ebster and Konrad Dąbrowski. Rookies Preston Campbell (+32″) and Ruy Barbosa (+33″), both astride Hondas, rounded out the top 5 in their class.
On the flip side, Neels Theric, sixth in Rally2 last year, was hit by a mechanical just 6 km into the race.
Just like Edgar Canet, the Swede Mattias Ekström won the prologue in his first appearance in the top class. It was back in 2023, also in Yanbu. Three years later, he has started the Dakar with a new triumph, the sixth of his career, now driving a Ford Raptor.
It was a solid start for the American manufacturer, with Mitch Guthrie second on the 22 km loop to the north of Yanbu, 8 seconds from his brother in arms. Guillaume de Mévius placed his Mini on the bottom step of the podium, tied on time with Guthrie.
Nasser Al Attiyah was the speediest former winner of the event, fourth at 8 seconds. The defending champion, Yazeed Al Rajhi, was 14 seconds down, with Carlos Sainz at 15 and Nani Roma at 18, but their times will not count toward the standings, in contrast with the motorbike category.
Henk Lategan claimed last year’s prologue and went on to finish second overall. This time round, he suffered a puncture 2 km into the special. This will have no impact on his total time. In fact, it could even benefit him, as it means he will not be taking part in the start order selection for stage 1 and will therefore begin the next special behind some of his rivals.
