2025 Dakar Rally
Prologue – BISHA > BISHA
The 47th edition of the Dakar Rally got underway with a timed 29km prologue stage near Bisha in Saudi Arbaia as the world’s best rally raid riders focused on their goal of finishing in the top ten so that they could choose their starting positions for stage one on Saturday.

Daniel Sanders is used to making a mark at the beginning of the Dakar and won today’s prologue just like in 2022.
Daniel Sanders
“It was good to get the nerves out system here on the prologue. It was pretty clean, with a few mistakes, but that’s what happens when you push a lot and miss some corners. The dangers sneak up on you because you’re pushing the pace a little too much. Hopefully it’s good enough to be up the front of the group for the Rally GP and the bikes and hopefully it gives me a good chance to choose a good position for tomorrow”.

Sanders finished 12-seconds ahead of W2RC 2024 winner Ross Branch (Hero) and teenage debutante Edgar Canet (KTM).
Ross Branch
“There were 130 riders out in front of me, so there was not much navigation, some little tricky places that caught me out once or twice, but I’m excited for the race and we’ve got a good start position for tomorrow, I think we can attack. You know what, this is racing – we’re here racing our motorbikes, what more could you ask for? The Dakar rally, the biggest off-road race in the world, so let’s go have some fun!”
Edgar Canet
“I’m super happy to finish my first prologue on the Dakar. It was a really good one and super fast like what I won before and what I like. I didn’t get lost and I caught somebody in front, ended up in a little bit of dust, but it’s good. For the moment, I think I’ve done a good job, so let’s see tomorrow for the first stage which will be longer than this. It’s completely a dream for me to be part of the team and able to be on the Dakar rally. It’s my first Dakar, so this time it’s about finding out what the race is exactly and keep improving, so let’s see how it goes”.

The first Honda across the line was piloted by defending Dakar champion Ricky Brabec in fourth.
Ricky Brabec
“Today was OK, not bad but not great. It was good to start the rally with a prologue full speed and get the bugs worked out. There’s nothing to do for the rest of the day, we’ll hang out and then choose our position for tomorrow. That’ll be a little tricky and then hopefully tomorrow we can land in a good position for the 48 Hour Chrono and set ourselves off for a good start.”

The second Australian across the line in the Prologue was Toby Hederics in 33rd place. The next Aussie home was Andrew Houlihan in 88th.
TT road race star James Hillier was 70th in the Prologue.
Two-time Dakar winner on two wheels, Australian Toby Price, was 12th in the Ultimate category on four wheels as Dakar 2025 got underway.

Ex MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci is competing in the Trucks category and finished the prologue in 13th place with his team-mates Claudio Bellina and Marco Arnoletti.

There will be nearly 500km of riding on stage one, 413km of it against the clock over a mixture of terrain on a southern loop from Bisha; stony sections, sand, and tricky navigation amongst the labyrinth of tracks will put them through their paces as they also strategise for the upcoming 48 Hour Chrono. That second 48-hour stage over two days is one of the most demanding tests in any form of motorsport, with all competitors sleeping out under the stars with simple rations for overnight food.
Dakar 2025
Prologue Results
Pos | Rider | Team | Time/Gap |
1 | D Sanders | R Bull KTM | 16m51 |
2 | R Branch | H Motorsports | +0.12 |
3 | E Canet | Red Bull KTM | +0.12 |
4 | R Brabec | M Energy HRC | +0.18 |
5 | T Schareina | M Energy HRC | +0.25 |
6 | P Quintanilla | M Energy HRC | +0.27 |
7 | L Benavides | R Bull KTM | +0.40 |
8 | A Beveren | M Energy HRC | +0.41 |
9 | M Docherty | B World KTM | +0.47 |
10 | S Howes | M Energy HRC | +0.52 |
2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule
2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule | ||||
Stae | Date | Start/Finish | Total | Special |
79km | 29km | |||
S1 | Jan 4 | Bisha > Bisha | 499km | 413km |
S2 (48H) | Jan 5/6 | Bisha > Bisha (Chrono) | 1058km | 967km |
S3 | Jan 7 | Bisha > Al Henakiyah | 847km | 495km |
S4 | Jan 8 | Al Henakiyah > Alula | 588km | 415km |
S5 | Jan 9 | Alula > Hail | 492km | 428km |
Rest | Jan 10 | Hail | – | – |
S6 | Jan 11 | Hail > Al Duwadimi | 828km | 604km |
S7 | Jan 12 | Al Duwadimi > Al Duwadimi | 742km | 478km |
S8 | Jan 13 | Al Duwadimi > Riyadh | 737km | 487km |
S9 | Jan 14 | Riyadh > Haradh | 589km | 357km |
S10 | Jan 15 | Haradh > Shubaytah | 640km | 120km |
S11 | Jan 16 | Shubaytah > Shubaytah | 507km | 275km |
S12 | Jan 17 | Shubaytah > Shubaytah | 131km | 61km |
