2023 Dakar Rally
Prologue Stage
Sea Camp – Sea Camp
The 2023 Dakar Rally kicked off with a 13 km Prologue along the shores of the Red Sea, offering the top ten riders an opportunity to claim their chosen starting positions for the next 368 km timed special stage, with the Aussie duo of Toby Price (KTM) and Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) claiming top honours.
Toby Price bounced back in great form for the Prologue after two painful exits from rallies, one due to a car fire in the Baja 1000 and another due to a crash in the Rallye du Maroc. Price, who was not tipped as KTM’s safest bet, scored his sixteenth Dakar stage win by a single second over compatriot Daniel Sanders, while Botswana’s Ross Branch took the bottom step of the podium behind the two Aussies.
Joan Barreda and Kevin Benavides completed the top five, ahead of Joaquim Rodrigues, Matthias Walkner and Sebastian Bühler in sixth through eighth, Michael Docherty ninth and Sam Sunderland tenth.
Toby Price – P1
“It’s nice to win the prologue today, but it’s not gonna guarantee nothing. It’s a really good start. I don’t know if it’s a good thing. For sure, it’s nice to pick your starting spot, but I don’t know if it’s going to be an advantage or a disadvantage. Last year, the strategy we had was basically completely the wrong direction of what I needed to do. I’ll just leave my mind open. Long stages to go, in 14 days, a lot can happen. It’s nice to win the prologue today, but it’s not gonna guarantee nothing. We’ll stay on two wheels, have fun and enjoy the desert.”
Daniel Sanders posted the second fastest time in the prologue of the 45th Dakar, one second behind fellow Australian Toby Price. It was a solid performance, but the GasGas biker is mostly just relieved to have made it through the opener safely.
Daniel Sanders – P2
“It shows I still have some pace after a year off. It was a pretty crazy eight minutes. It was pretty tough to stay focused and to find good traction with the bike. The terrain was really slippery. I ran off the track maybe three or four times from pushing too fast. I’m happy with this, with the mistakes I made, it was pretty good. It shows I still have some pace after a year off. I’ll get to select my position for tomorrow. This is just the prologue, the Dakar starts tomorrow. I’m starting back in the pack about 26th where I’ll be hopefully following the 25 lines going to the finish, I hope to have a easy day finding the flow again after a year since racing a rally! Looking forward to getting the road section out of the way first thing in the morning.”
Ross Branch – P3
“P3 in the short prologue today! Had some fun on the beach. Time to get 2023 started on a high. Happy new year everyone. Today’s prologue stage was slippery, but I went all out, had fun, and finished well like I had hoped. It puts me in a good spot to start the first stage. I’m looking forward to some long days on the saddle and good navigation. Spending time on my Hero 450 Rally is going to be incredible. Thank you everyone for your support and love.”
Previous Dakar winner Ricky Brabec was the strongest rider within the Monster Energy Honda team, with 11th place, followed by Pablo Quintanilla (12th place), Adrien Van Beveren (16th place) and José Ignacio Cornejo (27th place).
Top Husqvarna Racing Team rider was Luciano Benavides in 15th.
The first real stage will travel from Yanbu and feature 368 km against the clock on a loop, starts and finishes at the Dakar’s Sea Camp, alternating between sandy, stony and gravel tracks before a section of dunes.
2023 Dakar Rally Prologue Results
| Pos | Rider | Time/Gap |
| 1 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | 00H 08′ 22” |
| 2 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | + 00H 00′ 01” |
| 3 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | + 00H 00′ 09” |
| 4 | (ESP) JOAN BARREDA BORT | + 00H 00′ 09” |
| 5 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | + 00H 00′ 09” |
| 6 | (PRT) JOAQUIM RODRIGUES | + 00H 00′ 10” |
| 7 | (AUT) MATTHIAS WALKNER | + 00H 00′ 11” |
| 8 | (DEU) SEBASTIAN BÜHLER | + 00H 00′ 11” |
| 9 | (ZAF) MICHAEL DOCHERTY | + 00H 00′ 13” |
| 10 | (GBR) SAM SUNDERLAND | + 00H 00′ 13” |
| 11 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | + 00H 00′ 14” |
| 12 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | + 00H 00′ 16” |
| 13 | (PRT) ANTONIO MAIO | + 00H 00′ 17” |
| 14 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | + 00H 00′ 19” |
| 15 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | + 00H 00′ 20” |
| 16 | (ESP) TOSHA SCHAREINA | + 00H 00′ 20” |
| 17 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | + 00H 00′ 20” |
| 18 | (USA) MASON KLEIN | + 00H 00′ 20” |
| 19 | (ZAF) CHARAN MOORE | + 00H 00′ 22” |
| 20 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | + 00H 00′ 23” |
| 21 | (BOL) DANIEL NOSIGLIA JAGER | + 00H 00′ 23” |
| 22 | (ARG) FRANCO CAIMI | + 00H 00′ 24” |
| 23 | (FRA) MATHIEU DOVEZE | + 00H 00′ 24” |
| 24 | (ESP) LORENZO SANTOLINO | + 00H 00′ 25” |
| 25 | (PRT) RUI GONÇALVES | + 00H 00′ 26” |
2023 Dakar Rally Schedule
| Stage | Date | Start and Finish | Total | Special |
| STAGE 1 | January 1, 2023 | SEA CAMP > SEA CAMP | 603 km | 368 km |
| STAGE 2 | January 2, 2023 | SEA CAMP > ALULA | 590 km | 431 km |
| STAGE 3 | January 3, 2023 | ALULA > HA’IL | 669 km | 447 km |
| STAGE 4 | January 4, 2023 | HA’IL > HA’IL | 573 km | 425 km |
| STAGE 5 | January 5, 2023 | HA’IL > HA’IL | 646 km | 375 km |
| STAGE 6 | January 6, 2023 | HA’IL > AL DUWADIMI | 876.68 km | 466 km |
| STAGE 7 | January 7, 2023 | AL DUWADIMI > AL DUWADIMI | 641.47 km | 473 km |
| STAGE 8 | January 8, 2023 | AL DUWADIMI > RIYADH | 722.41 km | 407 km |
| REST | January 9, 2023 | RIYADH | |
| STAGE 9 | January 10, 2023 | RIYADH > HARADH | 710 km | 439 km |
| STAGE 10 | January 11, 2023 | HARADH > SHAYBAH | 623 km | 114 km |
| STAGE 11 | January 12, 2023 | SHAYBAH > EMPTY QUARTER MARATHON | 426 km | 275 km |
| STAGE 12 | January 13, 2023 | EMPTY QUARTER MARATHON > SHAYBAH | 375 km | 185 km |
| STAGE 13 | January 14, 2023 | SHAYBAH > AL-HOFUF | 669 km | 154 km |
| STAGE 14 | January 15, 2023 | AL-HOFUF > DAMMAM | 414 km | 136 km |
