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Dakar 2024 Prologue Stage Results: Tosha Schareina & Mattias Ekström Take Stage Wins
The Prologue stage of Dakar 2024 saw Honda's Schareina win the stage in the bikes category while Audi's Mattias Ekström claimed the top spot in the cars category.
The Prologue stage of the 47th Edition of the Dakar Rally saw competitors blast into the sands of the Saudi Arabian desert as they did a loop around the historic city of AlUla. The prologue stage saw racers cover a total of 157 kilometres which included a 27-kilometre timed special stage.
Bikes
The bikes category saw Honda's Spanish young gun Tosha Schareina claim the stage win. Schareina completed the 27-kilometre special stage in 17 minutes and 35 seconds to claim the first stage win of Dakar 2024.
Finishing 12 seconds behind Schareina in second spot was Aussie GasGas rider Daniel Sanders. The Australian rider blasted through the special stage in 17 minutes and 47 seconds to come home in second.
A further seven seconds behind was Hero's Ross Branch. The rider from Botswana who won 2 stages astride the Hero 450 Rally last year, finished the prologue stage in 17 minutes and 54 seconds.
It was a good day on the whole for Hero's four riders at Dakar 2024. Dakar legend Joan Barreda Bort, who is riding in his final Dakar Rally ended the stage in 15th, one minute and 25 seconds behind stage winner Schareina.
German rider Sebastian Bühler ended the stage in 16th, one place behind Spain's Barreda Bort. Bühler completed the stage in 19 minutes and 3 seconds, one minute and 28 seconds behind the stage winner.
The final Hero rider, Portugal's Joaquim Rodrigues ended the stage in the 21st spot, finishing the Prologue's Special Stage in 20 minutes, two minutes and 25 seconds behind the leader.
The other 'Indian' team in the mix, Sherco, also had a good outing in the sands around Alula. Spain's Lorenzo Santolino was the lead Sherco rider, finishing the special stage of the Prologue in 18 minutes and 51 seconds.
Portuguese rider Rui Goncalves finished the Prologue stage in 18th place, 2 minutes and 8 seconds behind Schareina while Indian rider Harith Noah brought the Sherco TVS across the line in 31st overall, finishing the stage in 19 minutes and 43 seconds.
The other Indian rider at Dakar 2024, Ashish Raorane who is taking on the world's toughest rally with the Xraids Experience team finished the stage in 104th overall. The 42-year-old Raorane took 31 minutes and 25 seconds to finish the stage on his KTM 450 Rally Replica, ending the stage 13 minutes and 50 seconds behind the stage winner.
Cars
Audi's Swedish driver Mattias Ekström took victory in the prologue stage of Dakar 2024 as he demolished the 27-kilometre special stage in just 16 minutes and 30 seconds in his Audi RS Q etron E2.
Ekström ended the day 23 seconds ahead of the Toyota Hilux driven by American driver Seth Quintero. Quintero finished the special stage in 16 minutes and 53 seconds to claim the second spot in Dakar 2024's Prologue stage.
The third and final podium spot was taken by 9-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb. The 49-year-old Frenchman, roared across the special stage in his Bahrain Raid Extreme Prodrive Hunter in 18 minutes and 3 seconds to claim third, finishing 38 seconds behind Ekstrom.
As for Audi's other two entrants, French driver Stephane Peterhansel finished the day in 7th, completing the special stage in 17 minutes and 15 seconds, ending the day 45 seconds behind teammate Ekstrom.
The third and final Audi driver, Spanish Dakar legend Carlos Sainz (Junior races in F1), ended the day in the 34th spot, finishing the stage in 18 minutes and 48 seconds, ending the day 2 minutes and 18 seconds behind Ekstrom.
Two-time defending Dakar champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah, ended the day in 12th overall, due to a small navigation mistake. While he won't be able to choose his starting position (only those in the top 10 get that privilege), he will have the advantage of following his rival's tracks into the desert tomorrow.
Thankfully for him and everyone else who fell behind today, the Prologue stage's times do not count towards general rankings, as per the new FIA rules for 2024.
Thoughts About Dakar 2024's Prologue Stage
The 2024 edition of the Dakar Rally saw the usual suspects get into the mix once again ahead of the proper racing which kicks off tomorrow. The top 10 finishers in all categories will get to choose the position they start in as the racers head out on tomorrow's 541km stage which includes a 414km timed special stage.
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