(Reuters) – Mattias Ekstrom of Audi claimed victory in the 27km prologue of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The purpose of the race was to determine the order for Saturday’s start.
The electric-powered prototype driven by the Swede Ekstrom finished 23 seconds ahead of American Seth Quintero of Toyota in the top T1 car category. Nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team finished third.
Brazilian brothers Marcos and Cristian Baumgart came in fourth and fifth for X Rally Prodrive. The times from the prologue do not count towards the overall standings, but the winner gains the advantage of selecting the starting position for Saturday. The other top nine finishers also have the opportunity to choose their places, while the rest will start according to their results in the prologue.
Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah, aiming for his third consecutive win and sixth overall, was the first on the road but a small navigation mistake caused him to finish 12th in a Prodrive Hunter during the sandy stage around Al’Ula.
In the motorcycle category, Spaniard Tosha Schareina earned his first Dakar stage win on a factory Honda. Australian GasGas rider Daniel Sanders finished in second place, with Botswana’s Ross Branch third for Hero. Argentina’s defending champion Kevin Benavides placed ninth for KTM.
The first stage of the race on Saturday will be a 414km journey from Al’Ula to Al Henakiyah.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ed Osmond)
