Luke crossco-pilot of Carlos Sainzwarned a few weeks ago at Sportish that “strategy will be key” in Dakar 2026. “About 7th place.” For many stages, it may be better to go for the win, avoiding the victory stages where you have to open the track the next day and can give up a few minutes to rivals starting from the back. Carlos Sainz therefore accepted the start of the 2026 Dakar after finishing eighth in the prologue. 22 km was fought over Yanbu.

In this prologue stage the car’s time did not count towards the general standings and the only thing that mattered was to finish in the top 15 to be able to choose a starting position this afternoon in the event which was held on a stage in the central area of ​​the bivouac. There, Ekström, the winner of the prologue, will be the last to choose and will therefore have priority as he can start in any position he wants among the first 15 cars. And after finishing eighth, Sainz will have a good starting spot, neither too far forward nor too far back, considering above all the long chess game that this Dakar represents.

The Madrid native explained this to Spanish reporters at his bivouac.

“First contact went well. It was a very fast prologue stage, with some trial areas and stones, and the terrain changed very quickly with the trial areas. And, in fact, there were no problems. In the prologue stage, it doesn’t count in time. It’s important for the position. So we have to think a little bit about what is a good position, not only for tomorrow, but tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” he stressed, revealing that he has to think about stage two. All costs start by first opening the track with the special by the scary stone.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to the front on the second day because the second day is rocky. So keep in mind that it’s not a very good idea to go to the front on the second day because I don’t want to do a mega special tomorrow because then the next day will be the opening day.” Argument.

“Keep in mind that it’s not a very good idea to have it on the second day. You don’t want to do a mega special tomorrow, because then the next day will be the opening day.”

Carlos Sainz

“I think we have to take it one day at a time, but it would be nice if we could think about the future even a little bit.” He added that while you can see that from inside the car, it’s very difficult to make those calculations and know what pace to set.

“That’s not possible. Well, let’s go with a little emotion. In stage one you have to choose your starting position well, but if you wanted to choose the best position for tomorrow, you could have been quite late, but I don’t think that’s interesting.” he said. I mean, if I had a choice, I wouldn’t start 15th. By doing so, you will have more options for safer navigation and following the line of the vehicle in front of you. But Stage 1 wins can be poisoned candy.

Regarding the puncture that Lategan suffered, he said, “There was an area of ​​challenge, the puncture, that I think will eventually become part of the trend in rallying.” Sainz has already warned that the new tires used in this Dakar could lead to more of these problems. Therefore, he clearly states that the important thing is to “survive” this beginning. “Yes, they are stone days.”