Colored top field with most of the top favorites in the top 10 – shooting star Tosha Schareina steals the show from the established motorcycle stars in the Dakar prologue
The 46th edition of the Dakar Rally and the fifth in Saudi Arabia is in the starting blocks. The short prologue was won by Honda newcomer Tosha Schareina. Daniel Sanders (GasGas) and Ross Branch (Hero) followed a few seconds behind the Spaniard.
A short warm-up was on the program on Friday to determine the starting order for the first stage. Around 130 kilometers from the bivouac in Al-‘Ula, there was a short 27-kilometer timed special. 132 motorcycles rolled over the start ramp in reverse order.
The last participants on the entry list tackled the timed section at 08:30 local time. The top favorites followed around two hours later at the end. The terrain was challenging, as it went around large rock formations and over sandy ground.
Four riders stayed under the 18-minute mark. In addition to Schareina, Sanders and Branch, this also included Adrien van Beveren (Honda). Rally Raid World Champion Luciano Benavides has the starting number 1 stuck to his Husqvarna. The Argentinian finished fifth.
His brother Kevin Benavides (KTM) returned to Saudi Arabia as the Dakar title defender. He finished the prologue in ninth place behind his team-mate Toby Price. The place of the injured Matthias Walkner was not filled by KTM.
The top 10 was full of high-caliber names. These included veterans Sam Sunderland (GasGas) and Pablo Quintanilla (Honda). In addition to the well-known brands, a Chinese brand that is not so well known in Europe also attracted attention.
The brand in question is Kove. Last year, this motorcycle made its debut at the Dakar Rally. A works team is also competing this time. Mason Klein also rides a Kove as a privateer in the RallyGP class. The US-American finished the prologue in tenth place
German Sebastian Bühler finished the prologue in 17th place with his Hero. The Duisburg native, who lives in Portugal, lost just under one and a half minutes to the leader. Bühler’s goal for the rally is to finish in the top 10.
In previous years, there was a coefficient for the motorcycle prologue. Their time was multiplied by a fixed value for the overall standings, which increased the time gaps before the first stage. This is no longer the case.
The top riders can now choose their starting position for stage 1 later in the day on the stage in the bivouac. There are still time bonuses for the opening riders, but in a different form to last year. Only the first rider will receive a time bonus.
It is one and a half seconds per kilometer, depending on the set distance, which varies depending on the stage. However, all other riders in the leading group who are within 15 seconds of the leader on the route also receive this credit.
The first real stage is scheduled for Saturday. A total of 532 kilometers must be covered on the route from Al-‘Ula to Al-Henakiyah. The rated special is already 405 kilometers.
Result of the prologue (Top 10):
01st Tosha Schareina (Honda) – 17:35 minutes
02. Daniel Sanders (GasGas) +0:12 minutes
03. Ross Branch (Hero) +0:19
04. Adrien van Beveren (Honda) +0:24
05. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) +0:26
06. Sam Sunderland (GasGas) +0:28
07. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) +0:47
08. Toby Price (KTM) +0:51
09. Kevin Benavides (KTM) +0:56
10th Mason Klein (Kove) +0:58