– MINI JCW Rally 3.0i crew currently third overall
– Baud family in 27th overall
The second stage of the 2026 Dakar from Yanbu to AlUla once again took the participants into rocky terrain, making it a highly demanding day behind the wheel. Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel opened the stage in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, meaning they could not rely on existing tracks. They finished the 400-kilometre stage in twelfth place. Lionel and Lucie Baud worked their way through the dust of the cars in front in their MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, yet still reached the finish in 25th place. Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero again had a difficult day and finished in 100th. Rebecca Busi and Sergio Lafuente in the X-raid Fenic were still on the stage at the time of reporting.
Following yesterday’s stage win, De Mévius and Baumel had to open the special and thus lay down the first traces for the following competitors. On the extremely rocky surface they suffered two punctures. Because the second occurred shortly before the remote service zone, the duo did not change the wheel themselves; the mechanics took care of it, saving some seconds. Due to a jack failure, De Mévius had to proceed more cautiously over the final kilometres. Their twelfth place gives them a good starting position for tomorrow. In the overall standings, they are third.
Lionel Baud is very satisfied with the day. Starting from 67th with his daughter in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d, they were right in the thick of the dust. But they drove intelligently – overtaking numerous competitors and pushing whenever the conditions and terrain allowed. Ultimately, they finished in 25th place, securing 27th overall after two days.
The Dakar remains in AlUla tomorrow. The crews will complete a loop of more than 700 kilometres around the Saudi city – 422 kilometres against the clock. The terrain changes to sandier tracks, but navigation remains demanding.
Statements
Guillaume de Mévius (MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): « The stage was quite good for us – we opened it the whole way. We had two punctures. We changed one ourselves and the other at the remote service. Over the final 150 km I had to drive more cautiously as the jack wasn’t working and we could not afford another puncture. »
Lionel Baud (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « We started from very far back – around 70th place. So we were driving through a lot of dust. We overtook one car after another, at least 15 in total. We attacked whenever possible. That’s how we managed to finish 25th – only about 20 minutes behind the leader. We’re very satisfied with that. The MINI runs great and the X-raid team is top. »
Maria Gameiro (MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): « It was another difficult day for us. At times we were running really well. Unfortunately one of the trucks hit us and damaged the car. We needed a long time to repair it and then had to drive the rest of the stage carefully. But the MINI absorbed the impact and luckily we’re okay. Of course we’re not very happy because we’ve dropped to the back again – but that’s the Dakar. »
Result SS2
1. S. Quintero / A. Short – Toyota – 3h 57m 16s
2. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 3h 58m 58s
3. Y. Al-Rajhi / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 3h 59m 12s
4. T. Price / A. Monleon – Toyota – 4h 01m 52s
5. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – Toyota – 4h 02m 12s…
12. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 4h 05m 36s…
25. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 18m 31s…
100. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 5h 15m 42s…
Overall standings
1. N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin – Dacia – 7h 12m 16s
2. S. Quintero / A. Short – Toyota – 7h 12m 23s
3. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 7h 13m 25s
4. H. Lategan / B. Cumming – Toyota – 7h 13m 44s
5. S. Loeb / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 7h 14m 13s…
27. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 3h 29m 49s…
93. M. Gameiro / R. Romero – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 4h 01m 18s…
Stefanie Szlapka,