SOUTH AFRICA PROLOGUE COMPLETE AS THE DACIA SANDRIDERS SWITCHES FOCUS TO STAGE 1

Navigated by Frenchman Édouard Boulanger, Al-Attiyah, the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) points leader following their victory on February’s Abu Dhabi Desert

Challenge, was the first driver to tackle the Prologue. The Qatari completed the nine-kilometre, gravel-based run in 6m58.6s to take thirteenth place among the Ultimate Class contenders.

Loeb, from France, and Belgium’s Fabian Lurquin – starting eighth on the road and chasing their first W2RC finish of the season – stopped the clocks in 9m22.5s, the 35th fastest Ultimate class time, following an on-stage delay aboard their Dacia Sandrider. The results of the Prologue, which covered a mainly gravel surface with several sections on black turf, will be now used to finalise the starting list for the first competitive stage tomorrow (Tuesday).

And Al-Attiyah will take the start with an impressive record to uphold. Since 2022, the reigning W2RC champion has won every W2RC round he’s tackled for the first time. Victory on the South African Safari Rally would extend that sequence to four events, while also maintaining his standing at the top of the W2RC points table. In addition to its meticulous off-event preparation, The Dacia Sandriders completed two days of testing in South Africa on Saturday when it tried out several upgrades in readiness for the country’s first W2RC event, which runs until Saturday (May 24).