The Dacia Sandriders has completed Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally firmly in the podium fight after Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin charged through the first 305 timed kilometres in Saudi Arabia as the second quickest crew.
Bidding for Dakar Rally victory number six, Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, successfully steered clear of the pitfalls on a demanding competitive route, which was characterised by narrow passes and jagged rocks, in a time of 3h08m29s.
Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger were less fortunate, however, after they suffered two damaged tyres. They’d run as high as second after 70 kilometres but fell down the order due to their delay to the extent they were 4m30s behind the leaders at the 180-kilometre mark.
From 14th position, the Frenchmen battled back to complete Stage 1 in 10th place, 3m01s adrift of top spot, which nevertheless provides Loeb with a lower and more favourable starting position for tomorrow’s second stage.
Lucas Moraes, a newcomer to The Dacia Sandriders for the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season, began his title defence with the 11th quickest time, which the Brazilian put down, in part, to being extra cautious through the rock-coated sections of the stage. As well as adapting to his Dacia Sandrider, Moraes is competing with German Navigator Dennis Zenz for the first time.
After completing Saturday’s Prologue second of The Dacia Sandriders’ quartet, Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno ensured that the team’s four crews all finished Stage 1 in the top 15 with another encouraging display, despite a damaged tyre during the early running.
Stage 1 included the first of three planned pitstops on this year’s Dakar Rally itinerary. The transfer zone, set up between kilometres 180 and 181.24 and featuring a 30kph speed limit, allowed teams to change tyres and carry out limited repairs.
As well as adding Moraes/Zenz to its line-up for 2026, The Dacia Sandriders has made several key upgrades to its event-winning Dacia Sandrider, which continues to be powered by sustainable fuel from Aramco and equipped with BFGoodrich tyres. The upgrades are focused on weight reduction, cooling efficiency, visibility, reliability and driver comfort. Meanwhile, a refreshed colour scheme, which includes more orange for a sharper look, was revealed ahead of the Dakar Rally.
The Dacia Sandriders continues its second Dakar Rally participation tomorrow (Monday) when the event heads north from Yanbu to AlUla via 400 stage kilometres.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Today was not an easy day. The first 170 kilometres was tricky, you can lose everything, there can also be a lot of punctures, but we take it really easy. In the second part we tried to push a little bit just to get the rhythm and see where we are. I’m happy to finish in second place. We adapt for everything, just we need to think a little bit for the first week of Dakar because Dakar is very long, two weeks, and if we manage the first week without any mistakes, without any problems then the second week we can push and we know where we are. I’m really happy with the performance of our Dacia Sandrider, it’s really good and the team is putting in everything. We will try to work and to win this race. »
CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a very good day for all of us, it’s just the beginning as the first stage but we were happy. It’s true that at the beginning it was not easy because I had a puncture, and I struggled a bit with the car. But after that I take it easy because I needed to understand the correct rhythm. After the pitstop I take confidence in ourselves, and I push a little bit more until the finish. Fifteenth is a good position, five minutes from P1 so we are happy for this stage. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « I didn’t want to win this stage because I didn’t want to be first on the road tomorrow, finally we lost three minutes in this stage, and we are 10th in the classification so it was a good day.
« Tomorrow it seems like the stage will be more stoney than today even. We know it’s tricky when it’s a lot of stones because we have to save the tyre a lot so it can be a difficult one. For that I prefer to start behind because it’s good. To know how it will be I have no idea. »
LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a good day for us, we kept it clean, that was the goal. Also not to be too in front because tomorrow is a big stage in the rocks. I’m just happy with the team, the car and Dennis also performed well. It was not an easy stage at all, Dakar has already started quite sharp. I’m happy to be part of the team, let’s keep going. »
DENNIS ZENZ (GERMANY), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « The first stage with The Dacia Sandriders and also with Lucas, it was a proper one, straight from the beginning over 300 kilometres. I expected it to be more easy but around kilometre 150 we have been the third car on the road, kilometre 200 we have been the second car with not a lot of lines. Actually, we did very well. We had a good pace straight from the beginning, it felt good, and we are very happy. The car was amazing, the team did an amazing job to prepare everything and the communication inside the car was great. It was very tricky, especially in the last part, very high pace with a lot of navigation but no mistakes so I’m happy. »
DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL) : Yanbu-Yanbu
Stage distance: 305km Liaison distance: 219km Total distance: 524km
2nd Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 3h08m29s
10th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 3h10m50s
11th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), 3h11m23s
15th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 3h12m49s
DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER
15: All four crews from The Dacia Sandriders completed Stage 1 of the 2026 Dakar Rally Inside the top 15.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 2, JANUARY 5
Heading inland and north towards AlUla, the opening 200 kilometres of this more mountainous stage are characterised by myriad changes of pace as the route switches between fast tracks and winding, rocky sections. The hilly terrain eventually gives way to a faster final stretch.
Stage distance: 400km Liaison distance: 104km Total distance: 504km
Linda Hirvonen,