ALULA, Saudi Arabia — Following Seth Quintero’s success on stage 2 of the Dakar yesterday, another American driver, Mitch Guthrie, tasted victory on completion of the 421 kilometers on the day’s special, which also finished in AlUla.
The prodigy, who is the son of a legend of US motorsport, had already won 10 specials in the Challenger class on his first four participations on the Dakar. His switch to the Ultimate class already proved conclusive in 2025 with an overall fifth placed finish but Mitch has reached a new level today.
With his first stage success among the elite on a route where many of his rivals were unable to avoid punctures, Guthrie junior also took command of the general rankings.
The rest of the day’s top 5 is made up of Martin Prokop (2nd), who has obtained his best result on his 11th participation, followed by Guy Botterill (3rd), Lucas Moraes (4th) and Cristina Gutierrez (5’57” behind).
However, the summit of the general rankings is dominated by one sole brand: five Ford Raptors occupy the first five places, with Guthrie followed by Martin Prokop (26” behind), Mattias Ekstrom (trailing by 1’08”), Carlos Sainz (3’34” behind) and Nani Roma (trailing by 4’02”).
The American constructor is ideally placed, even if the gaps are still small. The top 10 is today completed by Nasser Al Attiyah, who was toppled from the race lead but is only 11’39” from its summit. His team-mate S√©bastien Loeb finds himself two rungs lower, trailing by 16’50”.
