Ekström Leads Ford One-Two in Dakar Prologue at Yanbu

This seeding run determines Stage 1 starting positions rather than contributing to the overall classification.

Overview

Mattias Ekström set a 10:48.7 to top the 22 km timed test, finishing eight seconds ahead of Ford team-mate Mitch Guthrie.
Guillaume de Mevius placed third for Mini with Nasser Al-Attiyah fourth for Dacia and Seth Quintero fifth for Toyota.
Time gaps were razor-thin, with the top ten covered by about 20 seconds in the short opener around Yanbu.
Prologue times do not count toward the rally’s overall standings, but the fastest ten crews earn the right to choose their Stage 1 start positions.
Sunday’s Stage 1 is a 518 km Yanbu loop with 305 km timed as 433 vehicles, including 72 Ultimate entries, move into the longer desert tests; Sébastien Loeb was 17th after dust delays and Henk Lategan fell to 47th with a puncture.