The Prologue of the Andalusia Rally for Al-Attiyah-Baumel

The followers of Rally of Andalusia were waiting for them at the turn, they did not fail. From the Prologue of this second edition, traced over eight kilometers around Villamartin in the south of Spain this Wednesday, May 12, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) signed the best time.

The title holders were just three seconds ahead of Vaidotas Zala and the Portuguese Paulo Fiuza (Mini). The Lithuanian, first surprise leader of the Dakar 2020, once again demonstrates its propensity to attack over short distances.

Despite aging equipment (a 4×4 Mini), “El Matador” Carlos Sainz remains at the forefront of the fight. The Madrilenian, accompanied by Lucas Cruz, is third, nine seconds behind. Behind, the T1 class cars are absent, beaten by the modified SSVs (T3)!

The new recruit of Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team, Guillaume de Mévius, is a very convincing fourth man. The Belgian, son of former Nissan rally-raid driver Grégoire de Mévius, is navigated by his compatriot Tom Colsoul on the Overdrive OT3.

The 26-year-old driver, from rallying, is ahead of his teammates Mitch Guthrie Junior-Ola Floene (+16''). For his return to competition after accident in Saudi Arabia in March, Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Toyota) did not give the full measure of his Hilux 4×4 (8th at 22''). The Saudi is also sailed by Dirk von Zitzewitz, the time for Michael Orr to fully recover from his neck injuries.

Beginners in the premier category after a single rally-raid start (the Dakar 2021 on a Yamaha SSV in T3), Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist played it safe with their Mini John Cooper Works Buggy. The Swedes finish 20th (+36'').

The other rookie of the moment, Laia Sanz, set the 30th time alongside Daniel Oliveras (Mini 4×4, +50'').

On Thursday, the first stage will start from Arcos de la Frontera and finish near Villamartin after 257 km of timed special. The classification of this super special does not indicate the starting order for the coming day. Indeed, the first 10 will be invited one by one, from the fastest to the slowest, at the beginning of the evening to the bivouac to choose their starting location. 

Ranking Prologue Rally of Andalusia 2021: