Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

The 2016 Dakar rally will officially kick off with its first stage on Sunday, but the field of competitors across four categories took to the Argentinian roads for the first time on Saturday in a short prologue.

Joan Barreda clocked the fastest time in the bike category, but the differences between the competitors were minor at best due to the short distance. Paulo Goncalves completely missed his start due to a mechanical fault, but even he only sits one minute behind the leader in the classification.

Here are the top results in the bike, quad and car categories, courtesy of the race's official Twitter account:

An accident involving four spectators saw the rest of the prologue neutralised, per the event's official website.

The schedule for this year's Dakar rally:

Stage Date Bike/Quad Distance (KM) Car Distance (KM) Truck Distance (KM) 1 3 January 632 662 662 2 4 January 786 858 858 3 5 January 663 663 663 4 6 January 629 629 619 5 7 January 624 624 624 6 8 January 723 723 600 7 9 January 793 793 793 Rest Day 10 January Rest Day Rest Day Rest Day 8 11 January 766 766 766 9 12 January 436 396 396 10 13 January 561 763 763 11 14 January 712 712 712 12 15 January 931 866 866 13 16 January 699 699 699 Dakar.com

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For full route info, visit the event's official website.

Saturday's prologue served one simple purpose: putting the competitors in a logical starting order for Sunday's stage, which will be well over 600 kilometres long and will depart in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires.

This year's race will take place in Argentina and Bolivia, and organisers have elected to split the entire event into two parts. The first couple of stages will be fast and furious, with limited technical sections and plenty of wide-open roads.

But once the racers cross into Bolivia, the terrain will become increasingly difficult, and the toughest stages are scheduled toward the end of the race, when the cars, bikes, quads and trucks cross back into Argentina.

Jorge Saenz/Associated Press

The finish will be in the city of Rosario, and, per the Dakar's official website, the competitors will face plenty of challenges along the way: "The backbone of the Dakar 2016 alternates difficulty and terrain. Between the contrast in relief, temperatures and surfaces, the drivers and their teams will face a real test of their adaptability and will have to re-assess their performance on a daily basis."

Ignacio Casale leads the quads category after the prologue, and he didn't expect to be on top this soon, as he explained in an interview with the Dakar's official website:

It looks like I won the prologue. I wasn't expecting it. I raced at my own pace. An easy pace, without taking any risks. I hadn't ridden the quad since December 15. I didn't sleep very well yesterday. I wanted to jump on the quad and put the pedal to the metal. I felt like a kid with his Christmas present. I'm obviously happy to have won the prologue and I hope the other stages will turn out just as fine.

One of the most talked-about competitors in this year's race is Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time world rally champion and three-time Race of Champions winner. The Frenchman is one of the most versatile drivers in the world, but he has limited experience in all-terrain endurance racing and will be in for quite the challenge in South America.

Rally specialists have found plenty of success in the Dakar race, however, evidenced by Carlos Sainz's win in 2010. The Spaniard put together one of the top times during Saturday's prologue, and he's expected to do well again this year.

Jorge Saenz/Associated Press

Adrien Van Beveren looked absolutely phenomenal during his first Dakar stage, crossing the line after six minutes and 31 seconds on his Yamaha. With top favourites such as Goncalves and Toby Price struggling early in the bike category, the Frenchman could be one of the surprise contenders for this year's crown.

The stages for the coming days look fairly straightforward, and barring any major mechanical issues, Wednesday's stage will provide racers with their first real chance to make some moves in the standings.

With over 400 kilometres of special sections and an average altitude of 3,500 metres, it will be the start of two days of marathon stages, meaning no mechanical assistance is allowed. Tyre wear will be crucial, and fans can expect the field to be significantly smaller by Thursday night.

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