The HRC Monster Rally Team made it through the Dakar prologue with mixed results… The high was a win for Tosha Schareina, the low was newly signed American Skyler Howes crashing and losing a ton of time. The reverse starting order means Howes will have to break trail on a tough Stage 1 while Tosha can take his choice of start times. Today’s 27 km course was his first ever Dakar Stage win. A day after his 33rd birthday, Adrien Van Beveren finished 4th just 24 seconds behind his teammate, while Dakar Legend Pablo Quintanilla posted the 7th quickest time of the day. Former Dakar winner Ricky Brabec and José Ignacio Cornejo 13th and 14th.
“It’s just the prologue but I’m happy to get through that and start the rally,” says Brabec from the bivouac. “We’ll see how everyone chooses their position for tomorrow and hopefully we’ll start in a good spot. The prologue wasn’t technical, but it wasn’t easy, the navigation was a little bit tricky, trickier than you would think going through all these canyons. It’s only the prologue so finishing a minute and 20 seconds out is not a big deal.”
Stage 1 will kick off the first weekend in January with riders heading East from AlUla to Al Henakiyah where they will be thrown into a 414 km special stage. A 127 km liaison will make up the 541 km total distance in what promises to be a demanding day with rocky terrain and volcanoes on the menu as riders head to the first bivouac.