Perfect start for Audi in Dakar Rally, big surprise on P2

The 46th edition of the Dakar Rally kicked off with a 27-kilometerprologue. Around Al Ula, participants immediately got a nice tasteof sand and stones. The results will determine the startingposition for the first real stage, although the order of the topten will still be shaken up. Whoever drives the fastest time willhave the privilege of choosing when to start on Saturday. The timesdo not yet count toward the overall standings. Nasser Al-Attiyah,who left the familiar nest of Toyota for Prodrive Hunter, openedthe ball as the defending champion, but would not be the fastest atthe finish line. A time of 17:31 was not enough for a first "stagewin," as his teammate Sebastien Loeb dived right under it with17:08. Audi get off to electric start In recent days there has beensome noise surrounding Audi, which is entering the race with anelectric-powered car. Al-Attiyah announced that Audi would go homeafter three days because of poor reliability. There was no sign ofthat in the short prologue. Indeed, Mattias Ekstrom was the fastestwith a time of 16:30. Who also left a good impression was SethQuintero. The rookie Toyota driver came over from the SSV class anddrove the second fastest time right away. Loeb would eventuallyfinish in third place, ahead of the Baumgart brothers, who finishedfourth and fifth. Tim and Tom Coronel also got off to a start,crossing the line 5 minutes from the day's winner further down theorder.