The Sea Camp at Yanbu woke early to the sounds of revving motors as the end of the year marked the beginning of the 2023 Dakar Rally. Before the 5,000 kilometres to be raced over 14 long, desert days came the Prologue Stage. A short, sharp 13km track on the shores of the Red Sea would determine the starting positions for tomorrow’s much more meaty 368km timed special stage.
A total of 603 Dakar Rally competitors, racing 355 vehicles crossed the Start Podium before clearing the Prologue Stage – mostly in less than 10 minutes. And with that the 45th edition of the Dakar was underway and had posted its first timesheets. Let’s find out which contenders have put themselves in pole position following the rally’s curtain raiser.
Today saw Mattias Ekström racing the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 for the first time and the results were very impressive. The two-time DTM championship winner and his co-driver Emil Bergkvist set the day’s fastest time across all categories (8 mins) to claim an early lead of the T1 car class standings.
« It’s always nice to start in a good way, but of course the day is long and the rally is even longer. A good end to 2022, but tomorrow is the real start. » – Mattias Ekström
As well as taking the stage win, Team Audi Sport also had the race crew of Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger in third plus Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz clocked the sixth fastest time in the car race. It’s a promising debut from the three Audi RS Q e-tron E2 cars.
« It was a good day for us. Everything with the car was working perfectly. » – Carlos Sainz
Nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb finished just a single second behind Ekström. The BRX driver, alongside co-driver Fabian Lurquin, is pursuing his first-ever overall Dakar win after three previous podium finishes.
« It was a good stage for me and I tried to push hard. It was a fast stage, like something from WRC. » – Sébastien Loeb
Defending Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah was also well on the pace as he missed out on the day’s podium by just one second. Al-Attiyah, co-driver Mathieu Baumel and their Toyota Hilux T1+ did enough to remind everyone that they will not give up their title without a fight in the desert.
« We’re very happy to get the rally started after such a long time preparing ourselves for this. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Over to the T3 race and the Sea Camp at Yanbu was witness to some Dakar history today, thanks to a competitor who is making a habit of rewriting the record books. In January 2021, Cristina Gutiérrez became the first woman to win a stage at the Dakar Rally since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2005. On today’s Prologue Stage, Gutiérrez once again set the fastest time as she looks to improve on third place overall in the T3 race at the previous Dakar.
« I’m feeling really happy with the car and team, the mentality is really positive. Today is only the start and we have 14 long stages ahead of us. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno’s fellow Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team members also enjoyed success in Yanbu. Reigning T3 champions Chaleco López/Juan Pablo Latrach finished seventh on the prologue while Rokas Baciuška/Oriol Vidal won the first day of racing in the T4 contest.
« I enjoyed the atmosphere today. Everybody was excited to get the rally started and show their speed. » – Rokas Baciuška
Seth Quintero and co-driver Dennis Zenz led home their colleagues in the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich as they put their Can-Am second on the Prologue Stage behind Gutiérrez. Mitch Guthrie/Kellon Walch guided their T3-M by MCE5 vehicle to fourth place on its Dakar debut. Meanwhile, AJ Jones/Gustavo Gugelmin had to settle for the day’s 12th fastest T3 time as they felt their way into the rally.
« We ran at a conservative pace and it’s good to know that the car has got plenty more to give. » – AJ Jones
On two wheels there was a reminder from a two-time Dakar champion that he still has plenty more to offer at the rally. Toby Price won the last Dakar held in South America, but his best result since the rally relocated to Saudi Arabia is third. A win on today’s Prologue Stage shows the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing biker is going all out this time to taste victory in the Middle East.
« The race wasn’t there to be won today, but you could have thrown it away. We’re happy with the day. I’m feeling good and the bike’s feeling good. » – Toby Price
Second fastest today was another Australian biker, Daniel Sanders of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing. Sanders was joined in the Top 10 by GASGAS team-mate and defending Dakar champion Sam Sunderland.
« There was a little bit of nervous energy floating about this morning so it’s good to get that out of the way. It’s good to get the first kilometres done. » – Sam Sunderland
Also placing in the Top 10 bikes were Kevin Benavides and Matthias Walkner of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. These bikers will have the privilege of selecting favourable starting positions for tomorrow’s Stage One.
New Year’s Day in Yanbu will feature 368km against the clock on a loop which starts and finishes at the Dakar’s Sea Camp. The route will alternate between sandy, stoney and gravel tracks before a section of dunes turns up the heat at the conclusion of the stage.
Selected Results
T1 Car Class
1. Mattias Ekström (SWE) AUDI 8:00
2. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) BRX +0:01
3. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) AUDI +0:11
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) TOYOTA +0:12…
6. Carlos Sainz (ESP) AUDI +0:14…
8. Kuba Przygoński (POL) MINI +0:16…
11. Lucas Moraes (BRA) TOYOTA + 00:22…
13. Giniel De Villiers (ZAF) TOYOTA + 00:25…
27. Laia Sanz (ESP) ASTARA + 00:49…
T3 Lightweight Prototype
1. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) CAN-AM 8:49
2. Seth Quintero (USA) CAN-AM +0:02
3. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL) OT3 +0:04
4. Mitch Guthrie (USA) MCE5 +0:06…
7. Chaleco López (CHL) CAN-AM +0:15…
12. AJ Jones (USA) CAN-AM +0:22
13. Ignacio Casale (CHL) YAMAHA +0:22…
T4 SSV
1. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) CAN-AM 09:06
2. Cristiano Batista (BRA) CAN-AM +00:02
3. Gerard Farres (ESP) CAN-AM + 00:07…
BIKES
1. Toby Price (AUS) KTM 08:22
2. Daniel Sanders (AUS) GASGAS + 00:01
3. Ross Branch (BWA) HERO + 00:09…
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG) KTM + 00:09…
7. Matthias Walkner (AUT) KTM + 00:11…
10. Sam Sunderland (GBR) GASGAS + 00:13…
14. Štefan Svitko (SVK) KTM + 00:19…
35. Camille Chapelière (FRA) HUSQVARNA + 00:36…
99. Mohammed Balooshi (ARE) HUSQVARNA + 01:35…
QUOTES
Mattias Ekström: « It’s always nice to start in a good way, but of course the day is long and the rally is even longer. A good end to 2022, but tomorrow is the real start. We’ll have to try and be focused for another two weeks. »
Sébastien Loeb: « It was a good stage for me and I tried to push hard. It was a fast stage, like something from WRC. It seems like my strategy worked and we will be able to choose a good starting position for tomorrow. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « It was a short stage today, but a lot of fun to drive. We started back in 14th and by the end we were in the dust of the car in front of us so it was not the perfect run. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « The aim today was to get into a position to choose a good starting spot for tomorrow and we’ve done that. We’re very happy to get the rally started after such a long time preparing ourselves for this. »
Carlos Sainz: « It was a good day for us. Everything with the car was working perfectly. The stage tomorrow will be much longer and we will do our best to continue in a good way. »
Kuba Przygoński: « It’s an amazing feeling to get the Dakar Rally started. The prologue was really nice. The feeling of driving the new car is really nice. Bringing our new car into the Top 10 is a positive sign of what’s to come. »
Laia Sanz: « This wasn’t a perfect prologue for a two-wheel drive, but I’m happy with how things went. We’re getting used to the car and the feeling is coming. We shall see where we end up starting tomorrow and from there we will do our best. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « Today we drove with our regular, smart style. I’m doing my best to adapt my driving style to the Can-Am and today shows that good progress is being made. I’m feeling really happy with the car and team, the mentality is really positive. Today is only the start and we have 14 long stages ahead of us. »
Rokas Baciuška: « I enjoyed the atmosphere today. Everybody was excited to get the rally started and show their speed. I’m happy to win the prologue, but I’m also fully aware that the toughest tests are still to come. »
Seth Quintero: « It was an awesome day today and we got in some quick kilometres. I was looking for the Top 5 today before a big day tomorrow. When we get going tomorrow I’m going to see where my pace is compared to the other guys in the pack and then take it from there. »
Mitch Guthrie: « Getting ready for this rally is a lot of anticipation so to finally be in the car and racing feels great. This prologue felt really good and the car was awesome. Of course we went fast, but also nothing crazy. It looks like we’ve ended up with a solid time in the front pack. »
AJ Jones: « It was just the prologue today so we took it pretty easy. We wanted to get ourselves a decent spot for tomorrow. We ran at a conservative pace and I feel good that we’ve started in a way that will help us as the rally goes on. It’s good to know that the car has got plenty more to give. »
Toby Price: « All in all I felt good out there. The track was really, really slippery and I could have come off twice. The race wasn’t there to be won today, but you could have thrown it away. We’re happy with the day. I’m feeling good and the bike’s feeling good. »
Daniel Sanders: « The prologue is done and everything went OK. I didn’t have the cleanest set-up, it was quite slippery and I went off the track a couple of times. But apart from fighting the bike a little bit, finishing Top 10 was the aim and that’s what we’ve done. It’s good to get some nerves out of the system. »
Sam Sunderland: « There was a little bit of nervous energy floating about this morning so it’s good to get that out of the way. It’s good to get the first kilometres done. I felt I made a few mistakes out there and I didn’t feel super happy with my riding. Now we’ve got 14 days to start banging the hammer and get the job done. »
Kevin Benavides: « I happy with how I rode the prologue. It can be tricky because you train all the year for this race and today you needed to be flat out for a 10 minute sprint. Finishing fifth is kind of what I wanted from today and the feeling with the bike was really nice. »
Matthias Walkner: « That was quite an intense prologue. The piste was flat and you had to give it your all. It was tough to make time and very easy to lose time. I gave my maximum and was aiming for a spot inside the Top 10. »