Dakar 2026 // Prologue: De Mévius and Baumel make a statement with third place
01/03/2026
- Baud family well-positioned for tomorrow’s stage
- 23rd place for Busi in the Challenger ranking
The Dakar Rally officially kicked off today with the prologue – and the X-raid team immediately demonstrated that it is ready for the challenge ahead. Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel delivered an impressive performance in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, securing third place and positioning themselves firmly among the frontrunners. Lionel and Lucie Baud fought their way to 21st place in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, placing them in a strong position for tomorrow.
Their teammates Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero completed the opening day in a solid 66th position. For Gameiro, this is only her second Dakar and her first in an Ultimate-class vehicle. Making their Dakar debut in the X-raid Fenic, Rebecca Busi and Sergio Lafuente finished 108th overall, placing them 23rd in the Challenger classification.
The 22 kilometre prologue serves as the basis for determining the starting order of tomorrow’s first special stage. As the times do not count toward the overall classification, many drivers hold back to avoid unnecessary risks.
Today’s prologue was the last of its kind that the crews will complete this season as part of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship. For the remaining rallies, the championship standings will determine the starting order of the opening stage.
Tomorrow, the competitors face a roughly 500 kilometre loop around Yanbu. The 305 kilometre special stage is divided into two sections: it starts in rocky terrain with narrow sections where punctures are a constant threat. For this reason, the organisers have included a short service zone where crews may briefly meet their teams. This is followed by a sandy section with small dunes.
Statements
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “That was a good start for us. We’re happy with third place in the prologue. It shows that the MINI is working well and that we’re right in the mix. It’s a great feeling to be here in the car with Mathieu. Let’s see what the next few days bring. I expect some surprises in the navigation. Even today it wasn’t easy to find the right way. We still had some arrows along the route – those won’t be there from tomorrow on.”
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): “After just 200 meters we got our first surprise when a car was lying on its roof in the middle of the track. After that, we moved on to very fast, sandy sections that required precise navigation.”
Maria Gameiro (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): “I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. After the heavy crash in Dubai, we’re still driving a bit more cautiously and rebuilding confidence. But the Dakar really starts tomorrow. We approached the day with the mindset: ‘You can lose a rally in the prologue, but you can never win it.’ The MINI feels good – X-raid did an excellent job after Dubai. We’re satisfied, even if we weren’t as fast as we wanted to be.”
Rebecca Busi (X-raid Fenic): “The prologue went well. We immediately felt comfortable in the car: the setup suits us, and the overall feeling was positive from the first kilometres. Unfortunately, we had a small issue with the speed limiter, which cost us a few seconds. Tomorrow we will give everything to recover.”
Result prologue
1. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 10m 49s
2. M. Guthrie / K. Walch – Ford – 10m 56s
3. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 10m 56s
4. N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin – Dacia – 10m 57s
5. S. Quintero / A. Short – Toyota – 11m 02s
…
21. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 11m 30s
…
66. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 12m 51s
…
108. R. Busi / S. Lafuente – X-raid Fenic – 13m 39s
