The Dacia Sandriders leads the Dakar Rally for the first time in its short history with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin holding first place at the completion of Stage 2 (January 5).
Second overnight and the second driver to tackle the 400-kilometre run from Yanbu to AlUla, Al-Attiyah traded speed for caution through the challenging rocky sections to come out on top of the overall classification by seven seconds.
His effort of 4h03m47s was good enough for the eighth best time and means The Dacia Sandriders heads the order on the Dakar Rally – round one of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship – having made its debut in Saudi Arabia one year ago.
Delayed by two punctures on Stage 1, Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger also adopted a cautious approach. They were seventh fastest and climb from the 10th place they held after Stage 1 to fifth in the overall ranking, 1m57s behind Al-Attiyah/Lurquin.
Reigning W2RC champion Lucas Moraes, a new signing to the The Dacia Sandriders for 2026, was delayed by tyre damage and a mechanical issue nearing the stage finish, the cause of which is now being investigated by The Dacia Sandriders’ technical team. Navigated by German Dennis Zenz, Moraes holds 13th place after two stages.
Having been slowed by tyre damage on Stage 1, Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno completed a trouble-free day to maintain 15th position in the general ranking.
Heading inland and north towards AlUla, the opening 200 kilometres of today’s more mountainous stage were characterised by myriad changes of pace with the route switching between fast tracks and the winding, rocky sections of the Hedjaz Mountains. The hilly terrain eventually gave way to a faster final stretch on wide, sandy plains prior the first dune section of this year’s Dakar Rally.
Mechanics from The Dacia Sandriders were on duty during the pitstop zone located between 142 and 144 kilometres of Stage 2. Event rules allow teams to change tyres and make mechanical repairs with the race time stopped for four minutes.
In addition to Moraes/Zenz joining its all-star 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 48th Dakar Rally continues on Tuesday (January 6) with a loop stage around AlUla. Featuring 422 kilometres against the clock, Stage 3 is the longest of the W2RC season opener so far based on the timed distance.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « I would say it’s a good day without any drama. We take it really very easy because it was very hard and easy to break the car and have flat tyres. But our Dacia Sandrider is really good and we are quite happy to finish today. I think tomorrow will be a good road position for us. »
CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Our day was good, we take it easy all the way because we knew that the rocks today were going to be difficult. Finally we had one puncture but in the pitstop the team changed two because they found some cuts. At the finish we are happy, we are here but it’s just the second stage so we will see tomorrow. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a good day, not very fun with a lot of stones so we had to manage the rhythm and try to avoid taking some risks in the stones, which is what we did and finally we had no puncture, so the rhythm was the good one for that. Not really fun sometimes but, okay, it was a good stage, no problem with the car and we are here. »
LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Today was a bit tougher for us. We were going in a good pace until the pitstop. We only had one puncture, but we changed quickly. Then after the pitstop we start to have a slow puncture. We managed to do maybe 80 kilometres with the tyre. But then you have to stop. When we came back we were in the train and guys tried to pass us and we had to stop again to change a tyre.
« Not easy, in the last seven kilometres we had a technical issue and we had to go really slowly in the dunes, but we are here, we’re going to still fight and let’s see how it goes tomorrow. »
PABLO MORENO (SPAIN), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « A long day today, a really difficult stage, really hard, tricky in some points for the navigation but we made a good job. We have a good result and I’m really happy to be here. There were more rocks than yesterday. Tomorrow will probably be with less stones and rocks than today, but tomorrow will be a hard day like today. »
DAKAR RALLY STAGE 2 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL) : Yanbu-AlUla
Stage distance: 400km Liaison distance: 104km Total distance: 504km
7th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 4h03m23s
8th Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h03m47s
19th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 4h10m01s
20th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), 4h10m55s
DAKAR RALLY PROVISIONAL ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 2 (UNOFFICIAL)
1st Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 7h12m16s
5th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +1m57s
13th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), +10m02s
15th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +10m34s
DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER
367: The Dacia Sandriders leads the Dakar Rally despite only making its debut on international motorsport’s toughest event 367 days ago.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 3, JANUARY 6
While the AlUla region’s incredible rock formations will make for a spectacular landscape, they also make the challenge for the navigators even more complex. This is expected to increase during the second part of Stage 3 due to the increasing number of available tracks and the
scarcity of meaningful landmarks.
Stage distance: 422km Liaison distance: 244km Total distance: 666km
Linda Hirvonen,