2026 Dakar Rally

[NaBUru38]

48th Dakar Rally

* January 3-17, 2026
* Prologue plus 13 full stages
* Route: Yanbu - Riyadh - Yanbu

[NaBUru38]

T1 Ultimate preliminary entries:

* Dacia: QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah, FRA Sébastien Loeb, POR Lucas Moraes, ESP Cristina Gutiérrez.
* Ford: ESP Carlos Sainz, ESP Nani Roma, SWE Mattias Ekström, USA Mitch Guthrie.
* Defender: FRA Stephane Peterhansel, LTU Rokas Baciuska, USA Sara Price.
* Toyota: RSA Henk Lategan, ESP Isidre Esteve.
* Santana: ESP Jesús Calleja.
* Ebro: ESP Laia Sanz.

[NaBUru38]

The entry list will be published on Wednesday.

[saco0o]

8x world rx champ johan kristoffersson to compete on the... the utv class. i never remember the name of those

[focus206]

Main works and semi-works Ultimate team from the entry list:

Toyota: Seth Quintero (USA), Guy Botterill (South Africa), Saood Variawa (South Africa), Henk Lategan (South Africa), Joao Ferreira (Portugal), Toby Price (Australia)

Toyota Overdrive: Yazeed Al Rajhi (Saudi Arabia), Ronan Chabot (France), Hernan Garces (Chile)

Toyota SVR: Juan Cruz Yacopini (Argentina), Marcos Moraes (Brazil), Khalid Al Qassimi (UAE), Khaled Al Feraihi (Saudi Arabia)

Dacia: Nasser Al Attiyah (Qatar), Sebastien Loeb (France), Cristina Gutierrez (Spain), Lucas Moraes (Brazil)

Ford M-Sport: Carlos Sainz (Spain), Nani Roma (Spain), Mattias Ekstrom (Sweden), Mitchell Guthrie (USA), Denis Krotov (Russia), Jourdan Serderidis (Greece)

Mini X-Raid: Guillaume De Mevius (Belgium), Lionel Baud (France), Maria Gameiro (Portugal), Rebecca Busi (Italy)

Ebro: Laia Sanz (Spain)

I'm unsure about Santana / Century Racing. Santana should run a Century-based pickup for Jesus Calleja, I don't know what regular Century CR7 drivers Mathieu Serradori and Brian Baragwanath will drive. All 3 are listed driving "Santana CR7" entered by Century Factory Team.

[Tom206wrc]

I'm curious to see the performances of Peter' in the Defender :cool:

[focus206]

I'm curious to see the performances of Peter' in the Defender :cool:

If the car is good, he's the favourite for the Stock class. But he can't challenge the Ultimate cars...

[tbazsi95]

Munster will do Dakar 2026 alongside Jourdan in the Ford Raptor
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSVELQeDA_H/

[focus206]

Reading that Juan Cruz Yacopini (world Baja cup champion) suffered a very serious accident, while he was swimming and diving with friends. :(

[Tom206wrc]

I've read for Yacopini too :(

[focus206]

He is confirmed being out of Dakar. Without getting into details, I read from reports he's in critical conditions. One can only hope he'll be able to survive and eventually recover...

[focus206]

Ekstrom won the prologue. Tomorrow the first stage of 300 Km.

[focus206]

Guillaume De Mevius (Mini X-Raid) won the first stage. Very close gaps, 20 drivers in 10 minutes. Al Rajhi picked up a penalty and finished 28 minutes behind De Mevius. 2 of the 3 works Land Rover Defender (Peterhansel and Price) already in trouble.

Top 10:
1 - Guillaume De Mevius (Mini X-Raid)
2 - Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia) +40s
3 - Martin Prokop (Ford Jipocar) +1m 27s
4 - Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +1m 38s
4 - Marek Goczal (Toyota Energylandia) +1m 38s
6 - Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport) +1m 54s
7 - Guy Botterill (Toyota SA/SVR) +2m 03s
8 - Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport) +2m 37s
9 - Mitch Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +2m 50s
10 - Sebastien Loeb (Dacia) +3m 01s

[focus206]

Stage 2 won by Seth Quintero and dominated by Toyota, but Nasser takes the lead. Still very small gaps.

Top 5:
1 - Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia)
2 - Seth Quintero (Toyota) +7s
3 - Guillaume De Mevius (Mini X-Raid) +1m 09s
4 - Henk Lategan (Toyota) +1m 28s
5 - Sebastien Loeb (Dacia) +1m 57s

[focus206]

Many up and downs in Dakar standing each stage, according to which car is best suited. Seems like the Ford Ranger really likes rocky stages, top 5 is all made by Ford, 4 works cars + Prokop in 2nd, while Guthrie is the leader. Gaps are still rather small.

Most Toyota and Dacia lost time. Nasser, Lategan and Loeb are 10th, 11th and 12th, 12-17 minutes behind the lead. Nasser and Loeb had punctures early on and slowed down a lot when they had no spares, saying the Sandrider doesn't suit this rocky stage.

Big losses for Quintero (1 hour) and De Mevius (2 hours), which also basically ends any chance Mini had this year.

[focus206]

Halfway through Dakar. Top 10 drivers are within 30 minutes gap.

1 - Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia)
2 - Henk Lategan (Toyota GR) +6m 10s
3 - Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport) +9m 13s
4 - Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport) +11m 49s
5 - Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +12m 11s
6 - Sebastien Loeb (Dacia) +17m 36s
7 - Mitchell Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +21m 49s
8 - Mathieu Serradori (Century) +23m 29s
9 - Eryk Goczal (Toyota Energylandia) +24m 40s
10 - Lucas Moraes (Dacia) +26m 46s

Loeb said his priority was having a consistent Dakar without reliability issues. But even if he pushes more towards the end, 17 minutes from Nasser might be too much to recover on speed alone.

[NaBUru38]

Bikes after stage 6:

1. AUS Daniel Sanders (KTM), 24:41'
2. USA Ricky Brabec (Honda), + 0'45 (!!!)
3. ARG Luciano Benavides (KTM), + 10'
4. ESP Tosha Schareina (Honda), + 12'
5. CHI Ignacio Cornejo (Hero), + 30'
6. USA Skyler Howes (Honda), + 32'

T3 Challenger after stage 6:

1. ESP Pau Navarro (Taurus), 26:46'
2. ARG Nico Cavigliasso (Taurus), + 5'
3. CHI Lucas del Rio (Can-Am), + 26'
4. SAU Yasir Seaidan (Taurus), + 45'
5. ARG David Zille (Taurus), + 1:23'
6. NED Puck Klaassen (GRallyTeam), + 1:39'

T4 SSV after stage 6:

1. USA Brock Heger (Polaris), 26:56'
2. FRA Xavier de Soultrait (Polaris), + 32'
3. USA Kyle Chaney (Can-Am), + 53'
4. POR Joao Monteiro (Can-Am), + 58'
5. POR Gonçalo Guerreiro (Polaris), + 1:16'
6. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 1:44'

[focus206]

This year's Dakar has very small gaps. It seems like it's not as car breaking as the other years.

After 7 stages in Dakar 2026: 16 drivers within 1 hour from the lead. 10th place at +25m 25s
After 7 stages in Dakar 2025: 6 drivers within 1 hour from the lead. 10th place at +2h 07m 38s

[focus206]

Tomorrow and the day after it's a marathon stage. Last chance for Loeb to close on the lead in my opinion.

[focus206]

Chances over for Loeb, most likely. He was doing good on today's stage, ahead of all his main competitors but then the power steering failed, making him lose around 15 minutes. He remains 6th, 21 minutes down.

Nani Roma leads, Carlos Sainz is 2nd (+57s), Nasser is 3rd (+1m 10s)

[NaBUru38]

2025 Dakar Rally - standings after stage 9:

Bikes

1. AUS Daniel Sanders (KTM), + 37:09'
2. USA Ricky Brabec (Honda), + 6'
3. ARG Luciano Benavides (KTM), + 7'
4. ESP Tosha Schareina (Honda), + 15'
5. USA Skyler Howes (Honda), + 44'
6. CHI Ignacio Cornejo (Hero), + 1:05'

T1 Ultimate

1. ESP Nani Roma (Ford), + 36:44'
2. ESP Carlos Sainz (Ford), + 0'57 (!!!)
3. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia), + 1'10 (!!!)
4. RSA Henk Lategan (Toyota), + 6'
5. SWE Mattias Ekström (Ford), + 11'
6. FRA Sébastien Loeb (Dacia), + 21'

T3 Challenger

1. ESP Pau Navarro (Taurus), 40:47'
2. SAU Yasir Seaidan (Taurus), + 41'
3. CHI Lucas del Rio (Can-Am), + 57'
4. ARG David Zille (Taurus), + 1:07'
5. ARG Nico Cavigliasso (Taurus), + 1:13'
6. NED Puck Klaassen (GRallyTeam), + 1:23'

T4 SSV

1. USA Brock Heger (Polaris), 41:22'
2. USA Kyle Chaney (Can-Am), + 44'
3. POR Joao Monteiro (Can-Am), + 1:02'
4. FRA Xavier de Soultrait (Polaris), + 1:19'
5. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 1:38'
6. ARG Manu Andújar (Can-Am), + 2:34'

T5 Trucks

1. NED Mitchel van den Brink (Iveco), 42:20'
2. LTU Vaidotas Zala (Iveco), + 35'
3. CZE Ales Loprais (xIvecoxx), + 55'

[dimviii]

but then the power steering failed, making him lose around 15 minutes. He remains 6th, 21 minutes down.


wow !!! he drove 180km without power steering.

[focus206]

wow !!! he drove 180km without power steering.

I wish Loeb would try with the Hilux. I think he'd be able to push more without worrying as much about punctures and reliability...

[focus206]

Serradori with Century buggy won today's stage, congratulations to him, he's now 5th!

Seems like Nasser is in a good position to win again. If he holds the gap tomorrow and has no reliability problems, it's his Dakar. Only Lategan and Roma can do anything about it.
Loeb climbed to 4th but he's too far behind, he would need everyone ahead, especially Nasser, to have bad stages.

Top 5:
1 - Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia)
2 - Henk Lategan (Toyota GR) +12m 00s
3 - Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport) +12m 50s
4 - Sebastien Loeb (Dacia) +23m 04s
5 - Mathieu Serradori (Century) +33m 42s

Ekstrom and Sainz, 6th and 7th, seem to be out of the fight for the victory. Only 2 stages left + a final 100 Km sprint.

[focus206]

Lategan hit problems and is either out or lost several hours. The battle is between Nasser and Roma, but Nasser has a good advantage, it's in his hands.

Loeb is now 3rd, but unless both Nasser and Roma hit serious trouble tomorrow, there's no going forward. Ekstrom is only 3 minutes behind Loeb, but will have to open the road tomorrow.

Top 5 before the final stage + final sprint:
1 - Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia)
2 - Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport) +8m 40s
3 - Sebastien Loeb (Dacia) +18m 37s
4 - Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +21m 32s
5 - Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport) +28m 48s

[NaBUru38]

2026 Dakar Rally - standings after stage 11:

Bikes

1. ARG Luciano Benavides (KTM), + 44:49'
2. USA Ricky Brabec (Honda), + 0'23 (!!!)
3. ESP Tosha Schareina (Honda), + 15'
4. AUS Daniel Sanders (KTM), + 23'
5. USA Skyler Howes (Honda), + 34'
6. FRA Adrian van Beveren (Honda), + 54'

T1 Ultimate

1. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia), + 44:40'
2. ESP Nani Roma (Ford), + 8'
3. FRA Sébastien Loeb (Dacia), + 18'
4. SWE Mattias Ekström (Ford), + 21'
5. ESP Carlos Sainz (Ford), + 29'
6. FRA Mathieu Serradori (Century), 36'

T3 Challenger

1. ESP Pau Navarro (Taurus), 49:53'
2. SAU Yasir Seaidan (Taurus), + 25'
3. ARG Nico Cavigliasso (Taurus), + 44'
4. CHI Lucas del Rio (Can-Am), + 46'
5. NED Puck Klaassen (GRallyTeam), + 1:03'
6. ARG David Zille (Taurus), + 1:30'

T4 SSV

1. USA Brock Heger (Polaris), 50:10'
2. USA Kyle Chaney (Can-Am), + 1:06'
3. FRA Xavier de Soultrait (Polaris), + 1:28'
4. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 1:55'
5. POR Joao Monteiro (Can-Am), + 2:35'
6. ARG Jeremias González Ferioli (Can-Am), + 3:03'

T5 Trucks

1. LTU Vaidotas Zala (Iveco), + 51'56'
2. CZE Ales Loprais (Iveco), + 16'
3. NED Mitchel van den Brink (Iveco), 37'

[focus206]

Nasser is one step away from another Dakar, 15 minutes of advantage on Roma.
Loeb had 2 punctures and had to push less for the rest of the stage (3rd time it happened in this Dakar). He lost 3rd place to Ekstrom, 29 seconds behind before the final sprint.

[NaBUru38]

2026 Dakar Rally - final standings after stage 13:

Bikes

1. ARG Luciano Benavides (KTM), + 49:00'41
2. USA Ricky Brabec (Honda), + 0'02 (!!!)
3. ESP Tosha Schareina (Honda), + 25'
4. USA Skyler Howes (Honda), + 57'
5. AUS Daniel Sanders (KTM), + 1:03'
6. FRA Adrian van Beveren (Honda), + 1:05'
7. CHI Ignacio Cornejo (Hero), + 1:40'
8. BWA Ross Branch (Hero), + 2:49'
9. SLO Toni Mulec (KTM), + 2:57'
10. USA Preston Campbell (Honda), + 3:02'

T1 Ultimate

1. QAT Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia), + 48:56'
2. ESP Nani Roma (Ford), + 9'
3. SWE Mattias Ekström (Ford), + 14'
4. FRA Sébastien Loeb (Dacia), + 15'
5. ESP Carlos Sainz (Ford), + 28'
6. FRA Mathieu Serradori (Century), 45'
7. BRA Lucas Moraes (Dacia), 48'
8. AUS Toby Price (Toyota), + 52'
9. USA Seth Quintero (Toyota), + 1:15'
10. RSA Saood Variawa (Toyota), + 1:23'

T3 Challenger

1. ESP Pau Navarro (Taurus), 54:46'
2. SAU Yasir Seaidan (Taurus), + 23'
3. ARG Nico Cavigliasso (Taurus), + 36'
4. CHI Lucas del Rio (Can-Am), + 37'
5. NED Puck Klaassen (GRallyTeam), + 54'
6. CHI Ignacio Casale (Taurus), + 1:54'

T4 SSV

1. USA Brock Heger (Polaris), 55:12'
2. USA Kyle Chaney (Can-Am), + 1:01'
3. FRA Xavier de Soultrait (Polaris), + 1:25'
4. POR Joao Monteiro (Can-Am), + 2:27'
5. ARG Jeremias González Ferioli (Can-Am), + 2:50'
6. CHI Francisco López (Can-Am), + 2:59'

T5 Trucks

1. LTU Vaidotas Zala (Iveco), + 56'58'
2. CZE Ales Loprais (Iveco), + 20'
3. NED Mitchel van den Brink (Iveco), 29'
4. CZE Martin Macik (MM), + 4:36
5. NED Richard de Groot (MM), + 5:13
6. CZE Michal Valtr (Iveco), 6:18

Classic

LTU Karolis Raisys (Land Rover), 735 pts
CZE Ondrej Klymciw (Mitsubishi), 1003
ITA Josef Unterholzner (Mitsubishi), 1137
ITA Marco Ernesto Leva (Mitsubishi), 1230
IDN Julian Johan (Toyota), 1357
POL Mariusz Pietrzycki (Toyota), 1377