South Africa’s Henk Lategan won the Dakar Rally prologue in the cars category Friday, kicking off the sixth edition in Saudi Arabia that will stretch nearly 8,000 kilometers across 12 stages. Lategan, driving a Toyota Hilux, finished a second clear of Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom over the 29km run in Bisha, with five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar third. The prologue times do not count toward the overall standings but those in the top 10 get to choose their starting position for the first stage on Saturday, a 499km route featuring 413km of timed sectors. Sebastien Loeb came seventh but Carlos Sainz, who became the oldest winner of the race last year at the age of 61, was down in 25th place. Loeb, a nine-time world rally champion, is chasing a first Dakar crown in his ninth attempt. Australian Daniel Sanders was the quickest of the motorbikes on his KTM, ahead of Botswana’s Ross Branch and Spanish teenager Edgar Canet. Reigning champion Ricky Brabec of Honda came home fourth fastest. A 434-strong colorful caravan made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks set out from Bisha for the opening prologue. Twelve stages now await the 778 competitors from 72 countries, […]