Former DTM champion Mattias Ekström won the prologue of the Dakar Rally for the third time.
At the start of the desert race in Saudi Arabia, the Swede was eight seconds ahead of his American teammate Mitch Guthrie and the Belgian Grégoire De Mevius at the same time on the 22-kilometer route around Yanbu in his Ford in 10:48 minutes.
The 47-year-old Ekström, who had already won the prologue in 2023 and 2024, was active in the DTM from 2001 to 2017 and secured the championship there twice.
The defending champions of 2025, Yazeed Al-Rajhi from Saudi Arabia with German navigator Timo Gottschalk, finished sixth in their Toyota, 14 seconds behind first place.
“There’s always a lot of tension before the prologue, so you’re all the more relieved when a ‘Dakar’ is finally underway. We approached it sensibly, without much risk, and are happy with the result,” said 51-year-old Gottschalk, who had previously classified the importance of the prologue as follows: “The prologue is about a lot, even though it’s about nothing – the time doesn’t count towards the overall ranking, but it indirectly determines how you start the first days of the Dakar Rally.”
Young Spaniard wins motorcycle prologue
Among motorcyclists, the young Spaniard Edgar Canet secured the prologue victory on his debut. The 20-year-old completed the 22 kilometers on his KTM in 11:31 minutes and came out ahead of his Australian teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders (+0:03 minutes). The American Ricky Brabec (Honda) took third place, five seconds behind.
The 48th edition of the “Dakar”, which has not taken place in Africa since 2008, covers around 8,000 kilometers through difficult landscapes until January 17th. After the prologue, almost 4,900 kilometers will be driven against time in 13 stages. The start and finish are in the Saudi coastal town of Yanbu on the Red Sea.