Daniel Sanders (KTM) wins the prologue ahead of W2RC world champion Ross Branch (Hero) – Surprise from KTM youngster Edgar Canet – Sebastian Bühler (Hero) eleventh
The 47th Dakar Rally kicked off in Saudi Arabia. KTM factory rider Daniel Sanders won the prologue twelve seconds ahead of Ross Branch (Hero) and KTM junior rider Edgar Canet. Behind them came the Honda team.
The prologue took place on Friday, just under 30 kilometers west of the bivouac in Bischa. The timed special stage was just 29 kilometers long and consisted of hard terrain, some gravel and tricky driving sections.
The motorcycles started in reverse order of the starting numbers. The Chilean Tomas de Gavardo left the bivouac with his Fantic with starting number 148 at 6:55 a.m. local time. W2RC world champion Branch was the last to leave.
134 motorcyclists tackled the great adventure in Saudi Arabia this year. Of the Rally2 riders, KTM junior Canet was the fastest. Austrian Tobias Ebster (KTM) took third place in this class.
The RallyGP field was opened by experienced Stefan Svitko on a private KTM. When the top riders crossed the finish line, Sanders was at the top of the standings. The Australian was the only rider to complete the short course in under 17 minutes.
“It was a pretty clean prologue, but with small mistakes,” commented Sanders in an initial reaction. ‘That happens when you attack and miss a few corners. The dangers lurk because the pace is so high.’
Edgar Canet causes an upset
With just twelve seconds separating them, Branch and Canet finished second and third, sharing second place on the podium. The Honda armada followed in positions four to seven, with title defender Ricky Brabec in fourth.
As expected, the time differences in the field were very small. With a minute behind, the German Sebastian Bühler (Hero) took eleventh place. Ebster finally finished in 16th place overall.
The Benavides brothers, who compete in the KTM factory team, did not have an optimal start to the rally. With a gap of 1:38 and 1:40 minutes respectively, Kevin and Luciano finished in 23rd and 24th place. However, Luciano’s time was changed retrospectively and he was ranked seventh.
For one driver, the rally is already over. Harith Noah reached the finish with his Sherco, but the Indian has suffered a fracture in a wrist. Noah needs surgery. He won the Rally2 class in 2024.
The short prologue was important because the ten fastest drivers are allowed to choose the starting position for the first stage on Saturday. This ceremony will take place in the bivouac later this afternoon. For the motorbikes, the prologue result also counts for the overall ranking.
The first stage will take place on Saturday. A 500-kilometre loop will be driven south of Bischa. The special stage covers 412 kilometres.
Prologue results (top 10):
01. Daniel Sanders (KTM) – 16:51 minutes
02. Ross Branch (Hero) +12 seconds
03. Edgar Canet (KTM) +12
04. Ricky Brabec (Honda) +18
05. Tosha Schareina (Honda) +25
06. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) +27
07. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +40
08. Adrien van Beveren (Honda) +41
09. Michael Docherty (KTM) +47
10. Skyler Howes (Honda) +52
