Price & Sanders go 1-2 as Dakar 2023 is underway with prologue

Dakar Race 2023

Beginning stage
Camping on the sea – Sea Camp

The Dakar 2023 Grand Prix kicked off with a 13km Prologue along the Red Sea coast, giving the top ten drivers the chance to claim their chosen starting position for the next special 368km race, with Australian duo Toby Price (KTM) and Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) won the top title.

Toby Price is back in great form for Prologue after two painful escapes from the protests, one due to a car fire in Baja 1000 and the other due to a collision in the Rallye du Morocco. Price, who is not considered the safest bet for KTM, won the sixteenth stage of Dakar by a single second over compatriot Daniel Sanders, while Botswana’s Ross Branch stepped down to the final podium after two Australians.

Joan Barreda and Kevin Benavides finished the top five, ahead of Joaquim Rodrigues, Matthias Walkner and Sebastian Bühler in sixth to eighth, Michael Docherty ninth and Sam Sunderland tenth.

Price Toby – P1

“It would have been nice to win the opener today, but it won’t guarantee anything. That was a really good start. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Sure, it would be nice to choose your starting point, but I don’t know if that would be an advantage or a disadvantage. Last year, the strategy we had was fundamentally wrong with what I needed to do. I will keep my mind open. A long road ahead, in 14 days a lot can happen. It would have been nice to win the opener today, but it wouldn’t guarantee anything. We will ride two-wheelers, have fun and enjoy the desert.”

Daniel Sanders posted the second-fastest time in the opening of the 45th Dakar, a second behind fellow Australian Toby Price. It was a solid performance, but the GasGas cyclist was mostly relieved to have made it past the opening lap safely.

Daniel Sanders – P2

“It shows that I still have the speed after a year off. It was a pretty crazy eight minutes. It is quite difficult to concentrate and find good traction with the bike. The terrain is really slippery. I probably ran off track three or four times from pushing too fast. I’m happy with this, with the mistakes I made, it’s pretty good. It shows that I still have the speed after a year off. I will choose my position for tomorrow. This is just the beginning, Dakar starts tomorrow. I’m starting back to the pack around the 26th, where I’m hoping to follow 25 lines to the finish line, I’m hoping for an easy day to find the flow again after a year since racing a rally! Looking forward to tackling this stretch in the morning.”

Ross Branch – P3

“P3 in today’s short prologue! Have some fun on the beach. It’s time to start 2023 on a high. Happy New Year everybody. Today’s opening was pretty slippery, but I did my best, had fun, and ended well as expected. It puts me in a good position to start the first phase. I’m expecting some long days in the saddle and navigating well. Spending time on my Hero 450 Rally would be awesome. Thank you everyone for your support and love.”

Former Dakar winner Ricky Brabec is the strongest rider on 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).

The Husqvarna Team’s top driver Luciano Benavides was in 15th place.

The first real leg will be from Yanbu and is 368 km above the clock on a loop, starting and ending at Dakar’s Sea Camp, alternating between sand, rock and gravel tracks in front of a stretch of sand dunes.

Opening results of the Dakar Rally 2023

Dakar race schedule 2023