- Dakar begins with prologue
- Przygonski reaches eighth placet
After the X-raid team made final preparations over the past few days, the Dakar 2023 Rally finally got underway today. The organisers sent the participants into a 13-kilometre warm-up near the Sea Camp. Jakub “Kuba” Przygonski (POL) and Armand Monleon (ESP) finished the prologue in eighth place in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. The two Argentinians Sebastian Halpern and Bernardo “Ronnie” Graue reached 17th place in the MINI JCW Rally Plus. The two MINI JCW Buggy crews Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE) / Ola Floene (NOR) and Denis Krotov / Konstantin Zhiltsov finished 25th and 43rd.
The participants experienced a comparatively relaxed start into the hardest desert rally in the world today. The 13 kilometre long prologue started and ended directly at Sea Camp. The four MINI desert racers completed it without any problems. Despite the very short distance, the X-raid mechanics check all vehicles completely so that the drivers can attack tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the Dakar armada will stay at the Sea Camp. A total of 234 km of liaison and 367 km against the clock are on the agenda for the drivers on the loop. The first real special stage will be a mix of sandy and stony tracks and the first dunes.
The X-raid team wishes everyone a happy new year and a successful 2023!
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Kuba Przygonski: “It was a great feeling to drive the new car. The prologue went well for us and we were able to place ourselves in the leading group. This is a good start for the new MINI JCW Rally Plus. Now I’m excited to see how it will go for us tomorrow.”
Sebastian Halpern: “The prologue was interesting, but short. Tomorrow we have the first long stage on the agenda. The MINI worked great and I think we can have a good Dakar with this car.”
Dakar Rally 2023 – result prologue
1. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Audi – 8m 00s
2. S. Loeb / F. Lurquin – BRX – 8m 01s
3. S. Peterhansel / E. Boulanger – Audi – 8m 11s
4. N. Al-Attiyah / M. Baumel – Toyota – 8m 12s
5. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – BRX – 8m 13s
…
8. J. Przygonski / A. Monleon – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 8m 16s
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17. S. Halpern / B. Graue – MINI JCW Rally Plus – 8m 33s
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25. Sh. K. Al-Qassimi / O. Floene – MINI JCW Buggy – 8m 48s
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43. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Buggy – 9m 32s
