Dakar News: Mattias Ekstrom tops 2024 Dakar Prologue (Stage 1)
Mattias Ekström has begun his fourth Dakar in style by winning the prologue to claim his third stage victory in total.
The Swedish driver completed the day 23’’ ahead of Seth Quintero, who is taking his first steps in the Ultimate class after having shone in the class below (T3) over the last three editions. Sébastien Loeb completes the day’s top 3 with the same time as fourth-placed Marcos Baumgart.
The 46th edition of the world’s most prestigious rally-raid kicked off with a short 17 mile timed run in Al’Ula in the western part of Saudi Arabia on Friday, with the entire section run on sandy terrain.
The Prologue serves as a qualifying session of sorts, with the top 10 finishers getting to choose the starting positions of their own choice for the opening stage.
2024 Dakar Prologue Results (Cars)
| POS. | No. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 207 | (Swe) Mattias Ekström
(Swe) Emil Bergkvist |
TeamAudi Sport | 0h16m30s | |
| 2 | 216 | (Usa) Seth Quintero
(Deu) Dennis Zenz |
Toyota Gazoo Racing | 0h16m53s | +0h00m23s |
| 3 | 203 | (Fra) Sebastien Loeb
(Bel) Fabian Lurquin |
Bahrain Raid Xtreme | 0h17m08s | +0h00m38s |
| 4 | 242 | (Bra) Marcos Baumgart
(Bra) Kleber Cincea |
X Rally | 0h17m08s | +0h00m38s |
| 5 | 245 | (Bra) Cristian Baumgart
(Bra) Alberto Andreotti |
X Rally | 0h17m14s | +0h00m44s |
| 6 | 217 | (Pol) Krzysztof Holowczyc
(Pol) Lukasz Kurzeja |
X-Raid Mini Jcw Team | 0h17m14s | +0h00m44s |
| 7 | 202 | (Fra) Stéphane Peterhansel
(Fra) Edouard Boulanger |
TeamAudi Sport | 0h17m15s | +0h00m45s |
| 8 | 229 | (Fra) Lionel Baud
(Fra) Lucie Baud |
Overdrive Racing | 0h17m17s | +0h00m47s |
| 9 | 208 | (Cze) Martin Prokop
(Cze) Viktor Chytka |
Orlen Jipocar Team | 0h17m19s | +0h00m49s |
| 10 | 219 | (Zaf) Brian Baragwanath
(Zaf) Leonard Cremer |
Century Racing Factory Team | 0h17m25s | +0h00m55s |
| 11 | 211 | (Fra) Guerlain Chicherit
(Fra) Alex Winocq |
Overdrive Racing | 0h17m28s | +0h00m58s |
| 12 | 200 | (Qat) Nasser Al-Attiyah
(Fra) Mathieu Baumel |
Nasser Racing | 0h17m31s | +0h01m01s |
| 13 | 223 | (Ltu) Benediktas Vanagas
(Est) Kuldar Sikk |
Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics | 0h17m43s | +0h01m13s |
| 14 | 250 | (Est) Urvo Männama
(Est) Risto Lepik |
Rally Raid Estonia | 0h17m44s | +0h01m14s |
| 15 | 206 | (Bra) Lucas Moraes
(Esp) Armand Monleon |
Toyota Gazoo Racing | 0h17m45s | +0h01m15s |
| 16 | 210 | (Esp) Nani Roma
(Esp) Alex Haro Bravo |
Ford M-Sport | 0h17m52s | +0h01m22s |
| 17 | 212 | (Fra) Mathieu Serradori
(Fra) Loic Minaudier |
Century Racing Factory Team | 0h17m57s | +0h01m27s |
| 18 | 231 | (Fra) Romain Dumas
(Fra) Max Delfino |
Rebellion Racing | 0h17m59s | +0h01m29s |
| 19 | 236 | (Fra) Ronan Chabot
(Fra) Gilles Pillot |
Overdrive Racing | 0h18m04s | +0h01m34s |
| 20 | 227 | (Ita) Eugenio Amos
(Ita) Paolo Ceci |
Overdrive Racing | 0h18m04s | +0h01m34s |
| 21 | 222 | (Fra) Simon Vitse
(Fra) Frederic Lefebvre |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h18m09s | +0h01m39s |
| 22 | 214 | (Ltu) Vaidotas Zala
(Prt) Paulo Fiuza |
X-Raid Arijus Team | 0h18m11s | +0h01m41s |
| 23 | 226 | (Zaf) Saood Variawa
(Fra) Francois Cazalet |
Toyota Gazoo Racing | 0h18m11s | +0h01m41s |
| 24 | 241 | (Fra) Jeanluc Ceccaldi
(Fra) Thomas Gaidella |
Jlc Racing | 0h18m15s | +0h01m45s |
| 25 | 221 | (Bel) Guillaume De Mevius
(Fra) Xavier Panseri |
Overdrive Racing | 0h18m18s | +0h01m48s |
| 26 | 257 | (Fra) François Cousin
(Fra) Stéphane Cousin |
TeamCousin | 0h18m21s | +0h01m51s |
| 27 | 218 | (Chn) Wei Han
(Chn) Li Ma |
212 Hanwei Motorsport Team | 0h18m24s | +0h01m54s |
| 28 | 220 | (Fra) Christian Lavieille
(Fra) Valentin Sarreaud |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h18m25s | +0h01m55s |
| 29 | 235 | (Esp) Isidre Esteve Pujol
(Esp) José Maria Villalobos Valcarcel |
Repsol Toyota Rally Team | 0h18m37s | +0h02m07s |
| 30 | 264 | (Nld) Maik Willems
(Nld) Robert Van Pelt |
Bastion Hotels Dakar Team | 0h18m39s | +0h02m09s |
| 31 | 225 | (Zaf) Gareth Woolridge
(Zaf) Boyd Dreyer |
Ford M-Sport | 0h18m39s | +0h02m09s |
| 32 | 232 | (Fra) Pascal Thomasse
(Fra) Arnold Brucy |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h18m45s | +0h02m15s |
| 33 | 243 | (Zaf) Guy David Botterill
(Zaf) Brett Cummings |
Toyota Gazoo Racing | 0h18m45s | +0h02m15s |
| 34 | 204 | (Esp) Carlos Sainz
(Esp) Lucas Cruz |
TeamAudi Sport | 0h18m48s | +0h02m18s |
| 35 | 239 | (Syc) Aliyyah Koloc
(Fra) Sébastien Delaunay |
Buggyra ZmRacing | 0h18m48s | +0h02m18s |
| 36 | 252 | (Chn) Ping Sun
(Chn) Min Liao |
Yunxiang China T1+Team | 0h18m51s | +0h02m21s |
| 37 | 230 | (Esp) Pau Navarro
(Prt) Goncalo Reis |
X-Raid Mini Jcw Team | 0h19m02s | +0h02m32s |
| 38 | 205 | (Arg) Juan Cruz Yacopini
(Esp) Daniel Oliveras Carreras |
Overdrive Racing | 0h19m03s | +0h02m33s |
| 39 | 228 | (Fra) Jérôme Pélichet
(Fra) Pascal Larroque |
Raidlynx | 0h19m11s | +0h02m41s |
| 40 | 258 | (Zaf) Hennie De Klerk
(Zaf) Juan Möhr |
Treasuryone | 0h19m15s | +0h02m45s |
| 41 | 201 | (Sau) Yazeed Al Rajhi
(Deu) Timo Gottschalk |
Overdrive Racing | 0h19m15s | +0h02m45s |
| 42 | 238 | (Esp) Laia Sanz
(Ita) Maurizio Gerini |
Astara Team | 0h19m19s | +0h02m49s |
| 43 | 255 | (Fra) Dominique Housieaux
(Fra) Delphine Delfino |
Srt | 0h19m34s | +0h03m04s |
| 44 | 209 | (Zaf) Giniel De Villiers
(Zaf) Dennis Murphy |
Toyota Gazoo Racing | 0h19m43s | +0h03m13s |
| 45 | 234 | (Fra) Jean Remy Bergounhe
(Fra) Lionel Costes |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h19m50s | +0h03m20s |
| 46 | 244 | (Fra) Jean Pierre Strugo
(Fra) Christophe Crespo |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h19m56s | +0h03m26s |
| 47 | 273 | (Cze) Karel Trneny
(Cze) Michal Ernst |
Workoutland Accr Czech Team | 0h19m59s | +0h03m29s |
| 48 | 248 | (Cze) Tomas Ourednicek
(Cze) David Kripal |
Toyota Gazoo Racing Czech | 0h20m09s | +0h03m39s |
| 49 | 215 | (Kgz) Denis Krotov
Konstantin Zhiltsov |
Overdrive Racing | 0h20m25s | +0h03m55s |
| 50 | 251 | (Che) Alexandre Pesci
(Che) Stephan Kuhni |
Rebellion Racing | 0h20m51s | +0h04m21s |
| 51 | 261 | (Fra) Benoit Fretin
(Fra) Cedric Duple |
Ydeo Competition | 0h20m58s | +0h04m28s |
| 52 | 240 | (Ltu) Vladas Jurkevicius
(Ltu) Aisvydas Paliukenas |
Eldorado X Humbility Sports | 0h21m04s | +0h04m34s |
| 53 | 259 | (Ltu) Gintas Petrus
(Prt) Jose Marques |
Mvsport | 0h21m07s | +0h04m37s |
| 54 | 270 | (Fra) Patrice Etienne
(Fra) Antoine Sanchez |
Ydeo Competition | 0h21m12s | +0h04m42s |
| 55 | 237 | (Nld) TimCoronel
(Nld) TomCoronel |
Coronel Dakar Team | 0h21m33s | +0h05m03s |
| 56 | 249 | (Chn) Feilong Liu
(Chn) Wang Yicheng |
Yunxiang China T1+Team | 0h21m40s | +0h05m10s |
| 57 | 272 | (Fra) Jean-Philippe Beziat
(Fra) Vincent Albira |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h21m55s | +0h05m25s |
| 58 | 260 | (Ita) Andrea Schiumarini
(Ita) Andrea Succi |
Th-Trucks Team | 0h21m59s | +0h05m29s |
| 59 | 254 | (Chn) Zi Yungang
(Chn) Hong Yu Pan |
Yunxiang China T1+Team | 0h22m05s | +0h05m35s |
| 60 | 268 | (Bel) Stefan Carmans
(Nld) Antonius Van Tiel |
Csa Racing | 0h22m09s | +0h05m39s |
| 61 | 274 | (Pol) Magdalena Zajac
(Pol) Jacek Czachor |
Proxcars Tme Rally Team | 0h22m18s | +0h05m48s |
| 62 | 262 | (Ury) Patricia Pita Gago
(Chl) Paolo Boggioni |
Astara Team | 0h22m23s | +0h05m53s |
| 63 | 253 | (Fra) Philippe Boutron
(Fra) Franck Maldonado |
Sodicars Racing | 0h23m21s | +0h06m51s |
| 64 | 246 | (Fra) Frederic Chesneau
(Fra) Lionel Romanin |
Skybox – Btr | 0h23m43s | +0h07m13s |
| 65 | 266 | (Che) Cedric Goumaz
(Fra) Pascal Delacour |
Md Rallye Sport | 0h24m00s | +0h07m30s |
| 66 | 247 | (Nld) Michel Kremer
(Nld) Thomas De Bois |
Coronel Dakar Team | 0h26m42s | +0h10m12s |
| 67 | 271 | (Ita) Silvio Totani
(Ita) Tito Totani |
Motortecnica Racing Team | 0h27m13s | +0h10m43s |
| 68 | 269 | (Fra) Antoine Deleporte
(Fra) Yoann François |
Ycmcnc.Com | 0h27m51s | +0h11m21s |
| 69 | 256 | (Chn) Xiangyan Sun
(Chn) Yu Tian |
212 Hanwei Motorsport Team | 0h29m09s | +0h12m39s |
Bikes
Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina tops the 2024 Dakar Rally prologue results ahead of Daniel Sanders and Ross Branch on trickier than usual opening special.
2024 Dakar Prologue results (Bikes):
| Pos | Rider | Motorcycle | Time | Behind |
| 1 | T. Schareina (Esp) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h17m36s | +00:00:00 |
| 2 | D. Sanders (Aus) | Gasgas | 450 Rally Factory | 0h17m48s | +00:00:12 |
| 3 | R. Branch (Bwa) | Hero | 450 Rally | 0h17m54s | +00:00:18 |
| 4 | A. Van Beveren (Fra) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h18m00s | +00:00:24 |
| 5 | L. Benavides (Arg) | Husqvarna | 450 Rally Factory | 0h18m01s | +00:00:25 |
| 6 | S. Sunderland (Gbr) | Gasgas | 450 Rally Factory | 0h18m03s | +00:00:27 |
| 7 | P. Quintanilla (Chl) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h18m23s | +00:00:47 |
| 8 | T. Price (Aus) | Ktm| 450 Rally Factory | 0h18m27s | +00:00:51 |
| 9 | K. Benavides (Arg) | Ktm| 450 Rally Factory | 0h18m32s | +00:00:56 |
| 10 | M. Klein (Usa) | Kove | 450 Rally | 0h18m34s | +00:00:58 |
| 11 | M. Michek (Cze) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h18m47s | +00:01:11 |
| 12 | L. Santolino (Esp) | Sherco | 450 Sef Rally | 0h18m52s | +00:01:16 |
| 13 | R. Brabec (Usa) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h18m55s | +00:01:19 |
| 14 | J. Cornejo Florimo (Chl) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h19m00s | +00:01:24 |
| 15 | J. Barreda Bort (Esp) | Hero | 450 Rally | 0h19m01s | +00:01:25 |
| 16 | S. Bühler (Deu) | Hero | 450 Rally | 0h19m03s | +00:01:27 |
| 17 | R. Dumontier (Fra) | Husqvarna | 450 Rally Replica | 0h19m43s | +00:02:07 |
| 18 | R. Gonçalves (Prt) | Sherco | 450 Sef Rally | 0h19m44s | +00:02:08 |
| 19 | M. Doveze (Fra) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h19m44s | +00:02:08 |
| 20 | B. Cox (Zaf) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h19m54s | +00:02:18 |
| 21 | J. Rodrigues (Prt) | Hero | 450 Rally | 0h20m00s | +00:02:24 |
| 22 | J. Lepan (Fra) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h20m13s | +00:02:37 |
| 23 | S. Svitko (Svk) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h20m14s | +00:02:38 |
| 24 | X. Flick (Fra) | Kove | 450 Rally | 0h20m27s | +00:02:51 |
| 25 | M. Giemza (Pol) | Husqvarna | Gasgas 450 Rally | 0h20m51s | +00:03:15 |
| 26 | K. Dabrowski (Pol) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h20m56s | +00:03:20 |
| 27 | J. Argubright (Usa) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h20m58s | +00:03:22 |
| 28 | D. Drdaj (Cze) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h21m14s | +00:03:38 |
| 29 | H. Noah (Ind) | Sherco | 450 Sef Rally | 0h21m15s | +00:03:39 |
| 30 | D. Llanos (Arg) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h21m16s | +00:03:40 |
| 31 | N. Theric (Fra) | Kove | 450 Rally | 0h21m30s | +00:03:54 |
| 32 | C. Moore (Zaf) | Husqvarna | 450 Rally Replica | 0h21m39s | +00:04:03 |
| 33 | J. Pedro Subirats (Esp) | Rieju | 450 Rally Replica | 0h21m55s | +00:04:19 |
| 34 | P. Lucci (Ita) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h21m56s | +00:04:20 |
| 35 | T. Montanari (Ita) | Fantic | Xef 450 Rally Factory | 0h21m58s | +00:04:22 |
| 36 | A. Maio (Prt) | Yamaha | Wr 450 Rally | 0h22m05s | +00:04:29 |
| 37 | M. Docherty (Zaf) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h22m09s | +00:04:33 |
| 38 | M. Engel (Cze) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h22m21s | +00:04:45 |
| 39 | T. Ebster (Aut) | Ktm| 450 Rally Replica | 0h22m36s | +00:05:00 |
| 40 | S. Howes (Usa) | Honda | Crf 450 Rally | 0h22m45s | +00:05:09 |