Indian competitors perform well on the Prologue
- Sanjay Takale finishes First in Class on the high average speed group H3.
- Harith Noah on a TVS Sherco finishes 37th on his 7th Dakar Start
- Jatin Jain comes home in 114 th spot
The Prologue Test is undertaken to decide the start order for the main race and has no bearing on the overall standings. Sanjay Takale in the Dakar Classic Group H3 won his class with ease and will now open the Road tomorrow being Stage 1 Yanbu to Yanbu a 305 km special of Regularity, Navigation and Dune Tests.
In the Bikes category Edgar Canet and last years winner Daniel Sanders topped the charts followed by Ricky Brabec .In the highly competitive cars T1+ Category Mattias Ekstorm (Ford) and Mitch Gutherie (Ford) finished ahead of G Mevius in a Mini . Last years winner local hero Al Rajhi in a Toyota Hilux finished 14th .Nasser al Atayah ( Dacia ) 8th and Rally Favourite Carlos Sainz ( Ford) 15th . Top 17 can select their starting positions for Stage 1.
Dakar Rally 2026 in its 48th edition will run from 4th to 17th Jan in Saudi Arabia a total distance of 8000 km including 4840 km of Special Stage. It has many unique features this year especially with introduction of not one but TWO marathon stages . 74 cars in T1 and T1+ category with works teams from Ford , Toyota and Dacia will race for the coveted Overall Trophy .
In T2 the stock category the three car entry of Range Rover Defender has added a spice into this class. We have a virtual traffic jam in the Challenger and SSV categories 78 vehicles. Bike entries are 148 and Trucks 51.
The Classic Dakar with 92 entries is not to be confused with the main Dakar Rally. It’s a separate event by itself on many days a different route. Make no mistake its as tough and tiring as the main event with continuous Navigation, Regularity and Dune Tests where you have run at high average speeds timed to the second for hundreds of Kms. Dakar regulars have said this is as tough as the main Dakar Rally.
Exciting days ahead as the high speed duel in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia unfolds over the next 14 days. Watch out for daily reports .
Watch daily Highlights on www.dakar.com or You Tube.
