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Dakar 2025 Prologue Stage Results: KTM's Sanders & Toyota's Lategan Win As Harith Noah Withdraws
The prologue stage of the 47th edition of the Dakar rally saw KTM rider Daniel Sanders and Toyota's Henk Lategan claim victories. However, last year's Rally 2 winner, India's Harith Noah was forced to withdraw after fracturing his wrist making him the first winner of last year's race to withdraw from Dakar 2025.
The Prologue stage of Dakar 2025 saw drivers and riders cover just 79 kilometres, including a 29km timed special stage, across the Saudi Arabian sands around the town of Bisha in the southwestern part of the country.
Dakar 2025 Prologue Stage Results - Bikes
The Prologue stage in the bikes category was won by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Aussie rider Daniel Sanders with today's win taking his stage win tally to four at the Dakar. Sanders finished the timed special stage in 16 minutes and 51 seconds.
Taking second place was defending W2RC champion, Hero Motocorp's Ross Branch. The Botswanan rider, nicknamed the "Ferrari of the Kalahari" finished today's stage in 17 minutes and 3 seconds, 12 seconds behind Sanders.
The final podium spot was taken by KTM's new Rookie sensation Edgar Canet, who is competing for the very first time at the Dakar. The 18-year-old rider from Barcelona, whose KTM factory entry was announced just before Christmas, ended the stage with the same time as Branch, which also gave him the lead of the Rally 2 class at Dakar 2025.
Hero's other two riders, Germany's Sebastian Buhler and Chile's Nacho Cornejo finished the prologue stage in 11th and 36th place, overall. Branch and the other riders in the top 10 will be able to choose their starting spot for Stage 1 tomorrow at Dakar 2025.
Harith Noah, the TVS-sponsored Sherco rider from Kerala was the best of the Indian riders on the prologue stage, finishing in 57th place. However, it was later revealed that he had broken his wrist during the stage and would have to withdraw from Dakar 2025 to undergo surgery.
This is the fourth time that Noah has had to withdraw from the Dakar Rally in six attempts. Sherco now has only two riders in the race, both racing in the Rally GP class. The two riders, Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Gonçalves finished in 14th and 16th place today, 1 minute and 11 seconds and 1 minute and 26 seconds behind Sanders respectively.
Xraids experience rider Ashish Raorane was the second rider to set off into Dakar 2025 today and he ended the day in 95th place, 6 minutes and 55 seconds behind stage winner Sanders. The final Indian rider at the Dakar, Jatin Jain, ended the day in 132nd place, 13 minutes and 4 seconds off the pace.
Dakar 2025 Prologue Stage Results - Cars
The prologue stage of Dakar 2025 in the cars category was won by Toyota's South African driver Henk Lategan who blitzed the timed stage in just 15 minutes and 28 seconds. This was Lategan's third stage win at the Dakar in four attempts at the world's toughest rally.
Second place in the Prologue stage was claimed by Mattias Ekström who switched from Audi to Ford like defending champion Carlos Sainz for Dakar 2025. Ekstrom and his Raptor finished just one second behind Lategan's Toyota Hilux.
Five-time Dakar champion, Nasser Al-Attiyah took the final podium spot available on the Prologue stage, finishing 20 seconds behind Lategan in his Dacia Sandrider.
Fourth place was claimed by Overdrive Racing's 25-year-old Lithuanian driver Rokas Baciusca who ended the day just a second behind Al-Attiyah. Fifth place on the stage was claimed by Brian Baragwanath with South African Century Racing driver ending the day 30 seconds behind his fellow countryman.
9-time WRC Champion Sebastien Loeb ended the day in sixth place in his Dacia Sandrider. Loeb ended the day 33 seconds behind Lategan. 7th place was claimed by Toyota's Lucas Moraes with Ford's Nani Roma finishing 8th. Toyota's Saood Variawa finished in 9th spot, while X-Raid Mini's Guerlain Chicherit claimed 10th.
While today's times will not count towards the general classification at the end of the Dakar, the top 10 finishers like those on two wheels, will be allowed to choose their starting spot for tomorrow's Stage 1.
Those who missed out on that opportunity to choose their starting spot tomorrow include Toby Price who finished in 11th place in his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. The Aussie will have fellow two-time Dakar (bike) winner Englishman Sam Sunderland in the navigator seat as they look to replicate their success on two wheels at the world's toughest rally, this time on four wheels.
Other notable drivers who missed out on the top 10 include Dacia Sandriders driver Christina Guttierez, who ended the day in 16th and her fellow Spanish driver and defending champion Carlos Sainz who ended the day in 25th place in his Ford Raptor.
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