Mattias Ekstrom leads Ford 1-2 in Prologue

Manufacturing facility Ford driver Mattias Ekstrom drew first blood within the 2026 Dakar Rally, edging out team-mate Mitch Guthrie in Saturday’s Prologue.

The forty eighth version of Dakar kicked off in earnest on 3 January, with a complete of 72 vehicles taking the beginning within the Final class. The Prologue featured a 95km route across the Saudi Arabian port metropolis of Yanbu, although solely 22km have been timed, leading to minimal gaps on the entrance of the sphere.

Driving the V8-powered Ford Raptor, two-time DTM champion Ekstrom set the quickest time of the day, reaching the end line in 10m48.7s. This was his third Prologue victory in 5 appearances, after his earlier triumphs with Audi in 2023 and ‘24.

Guthrie completed eight seconds behind Ekstrom in second, sealing a 1-2 for Ford because the American marque makes it second manufacturing unit look within the Dakar.

#226 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mattias Ekstrom, Emil Bergkvist

Photograph by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool

X-raid driver Guillaume de Mevius completed simply two tenths behind Guthrie in third, establishing Mini as Ford’s closest challenger within the Prologue. De Mevius was once more partnered by four-time Dakar-winning navigator Mathieu Baumel, who has returned to energetic competitors after dropping his proper leg in an accident in January final yr.

Dakar star Nasser Al-Attiyah led the way in which for Renault Group model Dacia in fourth, ending one other three tenths adrift of De Mevius.

Fifth place went to manufacturing unit Toyota driver Seth Quintero, with reigning champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi following him intently behind in sixth on his Overdrive-run Hilux.

Eryk Goczal was a shock seventh in EnergyLand’s buyer Toyota, matching Quintero and Al-Rajhi’s occasions to the second.

Rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr returned to the Dakar on Tuesday following his early exit from the 2025 occasion, guiding his Ford to eighth place, 15s behind team-mate Ekstrom.

Matthieu Serradori ended up ninth-fastest for the underdog Century marque, whereas the highest 10 was rounded out by Toyota South Africa’s Saood Variawa.

9-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb made a comparatively low-key begin to Dakar with seventeenth place, greater than half a minute off the highest spot. He was intently adopted by team-mate Lucas Moraes, who has joined Dacia this yr after successful the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship with Toyota.

Not like within the bike class, Prologue occasions won’t rely towards the general classification. Nevertheless, the ten quickest drivers on Saturday will earn the fitting to decide on their beginning positions for Sunday’s first full-fledged stage in Yanbu.

Prologue Outcomes – Prime 10:

Pos	Driver	Automobile	Hole
1	Mattias Ekstrom	Ford	–
2	Mitch Guthrie	Ford	+8s
3	Guillaume de Mevius	Mini	+8s
4	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Dacia	+8s
5	Seth Quintero	Toyota	+14s
6	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	Toyota	+14s
7	Eryk Goczal	Toyota	+14s
8	Carlos Sainz Sr	Ford	+15s
9	Matthieu Serradori	Century	+15s
10	Saood Variawa	Toyota	+18s