Stage 5 of the 2026 Dakar Rally was all about the top three for The Dacia Sandriders after it delivered another strong display on the opening round of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.
While Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin closed the gap to the leaders by maintaining their second place overall, Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz battled hard for their first top-three stage time in the colours of The Dacia Sandriders.
Having held the position for large chunks of today’s action, they eventually completed part two of the event’s first marathon stage with the fourth quickest time, their efforts not helped by having to drive in the dust of cars running ahead of them.
From being 3m55s adrift of first place on Wednesday evening, Al-Attiyah/Lurquin left the bivouac refuge this morning (Thursday) second on the road.
With virtually no lines to follow, the onus was on even more effective navigation than ever before. Despite the increased challenge, Al-Attiyah/Lurquin excelled to minimise the potential time loss and close to within 3m17s of first place.
They could have been even closer to the front but for a two-minute penalty handed out when they inadvertently exceeded the speed limit in a controlled zone.
Hampered by his early road position on Wednesday, world champion Moraes was able to demonstrate his obvious pace on an event that is marking his competitive debut for The Dacia Sandriders. The Brazilian finished today’s 371-kilometre competitive section with his second top-four stage time of this year’s Dakar Rally.
Along with German navigator Zenz, Moraes has shot up from 12th to seventh in the overall ranking as a result, one position ahead of team-mates Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger.
Fifth on the road and in fightback mode following significant tyre-related delays on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Frenchmen reached the finish of Stage 5 as the 12th fastest crew. They remain eighth in the overall classification ahead of Friday’s stage to Riyadh, where crews will enjoy a hard-earned rest day on Saturday.
Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno suffered tyre damage and also lost time in hanging dust as they finished Stage 5 in 13th place in the overall order. After dropping time on Wednesday due to their early road position, the Spaniards were 14th quickest during today’s running.
Having spent Wednesday night in self-assembled tents and with only limited provisions and no technical assistance from their teams, competitors return to the relative comfort of the bivouac and to their awaiting technical and support personnel.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS :« It was a really nice atmosphere last night, we see all the stars, an amazing night. We shared everything with all the other drivers. Today we tried to do our best and I’m happy with what we did today, and it will be good for tomorrow’s road position. It was not an easy stage and from the beginning we tried to manage without any mistake, with no puncture. The penalty was out of our hands. We came a little bit from the left side and when we crossed, we crossed in the speed zone. Now it’s about road position, if you have a good road position you can win this race.
« But we are so happy, Fabian did a good job, the mechanics, the team. But still we need to be in Riyadh for the rest day on Saturday and then we manage the second week. »
CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « A lot of dust, we were in starting position 24 with a one-minute gap, which means from the very beginning we had a lot of dust. We are used to that but today was very hard with the dust, but also we had one puncture and some issues with the navigation, because with the dust it was super-difficult to find the place. We lost some minutes there, but overall we are happy. It’s the second day of the marathon. The two days were very hard for the car and for our bodies so I’m happy to be here at the finish. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a good day today. I took it a bit easy at the beginning of the stage to try not to get the same problems that I had the previous two days with the puncture early in the stage. Finally, after half of the stage, I tried to go faster and the feeling was good. The tyres were working well and my Dacia Sandrider also, so it was a good stage. »
LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « First, of course, it’s really nice to be at the finish of the stage with the team. One marathon stage checked. We were in the train today. We caught Carlos Sainz 100 kilometres into the stage I believe, then he caught Mathieu Serradori and everybody was catching everybody. We were200 kilometres in the dust today and it was really, really tough. It could have been better but we are here in the top seven overall. »
DENNIS ZENZ (GERMANY), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Day one of the marathon stage was very tricky. We started in the front group, from kilometre 100 we were opening the group, which makes life very difficult because you are slowed down quite a lot to follow the roadbook carefully and not lose the good track. We started today car number 14 so we had good lines in front and could catch up some minutes. At the end it’s a good two days, our Dacia Sanrider is in a good condition, so we are very happy. »
DAKAR RALLY STAGE 5 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL) – Refuge Marathon-Hail
Stage distance: 371km Liaison distance: 56km Total distance: 427km
4th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), 3h58m24s
12th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 4h05m27s
14th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 4h06m10s
16th Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h06m51s
DAKAR RALLY PROVISIONAL ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 5 (UNOFFICIAL)
2nd Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +3m17s
7th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), +17m11s
8th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +17m55s
13th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +23m59s
DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER
5: A second top-four stage time on their debut event with The Dacia Sandriders helped Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz climb five positions in the overall ranking. They were 12th after four stages but head into Stage 6 on Friday in seventh position.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 6, JANUARY 9
The longest stage of the Dakar Rally in terms of the total distance covered, the run from Ha’il to the capital Riyadh – the event’s most easterly point – is focused on the Qassim region and a vast blanket of sand dunes. A long liaison section to the stage finish and subsequent rest day awaits.
Stage distance: 331km Liaison distance: 589km Total distance: 920km
Linda Hirvonen,