Henk Lategan: "It was a bit of a disaster"

Dakar 2026 | Prologue | YANBU > YANBU
January 3 ^rd 2026 - 15:14 [GMT + 3]

Last year's runner-up, Henk Lategan, has been touted as one of the favourites to win this edition. A puncture cost him 1'38" to the reference time and 47th place overall. For drivers outside the top 10, tomorrow's stage will start in reverse order of today's ranking. As a result, Lategan will be clearing the way for the Ultimate field. "A bit of a disaster" indeed.

"It was a bit of a disaster for us. In one of the sandy bits, we were in a rut and we hit a rock, got a puncture. It was not going down immediately. We thought maybe we got away with it, but in the end we didn't. So yeah, really a bit disappointed. We wanted to have a good prologue to start off with, and this was a bit of a disaster. So yeah, now we go back to the pits and re-evaluate a little bit and see what we can do. Most probably we will be one of the first guys on the road tomorrow, if not opening. So tough start to the race for us."