The opening week of the 2026 Dakar Rally has been a wild ride. Over 4,000 kilometres have been covered across rocks and sand in Saudi Arabia. Competitors who made it to the Rest Day in Riyadh took a well-deserved break from racing, but the engines will roar once again tomorrow on Stage 7. It’s been a dramatic first week and the remaining seven stages promise a memorable finish in Yanbu on Saturday, January 17. Let’s recap the biggest takeaways of the first week…
1. It’s hard to remember a bigger battle for the lead in the Ultimate class during the Dakar’s near 50 years of existence. Not only do we have a Top 10 all with a realistic shot at winning this rally, there’s three different manufacturers occupying the overall podium. Five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah put his Dacia Sandrider in top spot by winning Stage 6. The Qatari is joined on the overall Ultimate podium by Henk Lategan’s Toyota Hilux and Nani Roma’s Ford Raptor T1+.
« I like to see so many different manufacturers doing well at the Dakar. At the beginning MINI was leading, then Toyota, then Ford and now Dacia. We’ll be pushing hard in the second week of this Dakar to make sure we come out on top. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Elsewhere in the mix are Roma’s Ford M-Sport team-mates Carlos Sainz, Mattias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie Jr. With 2,500 kilometres left to race between Riyadh and Yanbu there’ll be plenty of movement on the leaderboard during the rally’s second week.
« I think it’s nice to have three different teams all in the front. At the Rest Day we see many drivers close together with the possibility to go for the win. It shows that our discipline is in a good status. I’ll do all I can to win and I’m ready to push in the second week. » – Carlos Sainz
Watch F1 sensation Isack Hadjar shifts gears and take the wheel of Ford’s Dakar Rally charger!
2. Dacia and Ford are racing their second editions of the Dakar after making their debuts 12 months ago, but for Defender this is a first roll of the dice in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The Defender Dakar D7X‑R has impressed in the first week with a string of Stock class stage wins. Enjoying himself behind the wheel of his Defender has been 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel. Monsieur Dakar was tempted out of retirement by the Defender project and he’s clearly happy with his decision.
« When you start a new program to bring a car to the Dakar it’s always complicated. We did 6,000 kilometres of testing before this rally, but still you have some apprehension at the start. Things have been running well for us and we are placed one and two in the Stock category and our other car is in fourth overall. Apart from our positive stage results we are also really enjoying to drive the car, this is the most important thing of all. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
3. Nobody races the Dakar because it’s easy. Eight-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson knew he was taking on a challenge like nothing else in motorsport when he entered his Polaris RZR Pro R into the SSV class. The Swede may have ended up on his roof during the Prologue Stage, but he’s battled back and is still in the race ahead of week two.
« I was worried that my first Dakar would be like jumping from a plane without a parachute, but I’ve had so much support. Ahead of the second week I’m feeling surprising fresh and ready to get going again. » – Johan Kristoffersson
Joining Kristoffersson in the Rest Day bivouac in Riyadh were a pair of his World Rallycross rivals. Timmy and Kevin Hansen were checking out the machinery and getting a feel for the rally. Could we see the Swedish brothers trying their hand at the world’s toughest rally in the future?
« It’s my first time inside the Dakar Rally bivouac and I’m so lost! So it’s not just racing on the stages where you can get lost, you can also easily get lost in this huge bivouac. I’m seeing really professional teams with great setups. It’s gets me very hungry to sit in one of these cars in maybe two or three years. » – Kevin Hansen
4. Two-time Bike champion Kevin Benavides is not done with the Dakar despite retiring from racing on two wheels. The Argentinian is back in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, this time competing on four wheels in the Challenger class. The first week has been a steep learning curve, but things ended on a high. Stage 6, which happened to fall on his birthday, saw Benavides record his best result so far. This podium finish has given the Taurus T3 Max driver renewed confidence for the challenges still to come.
« It was amazing to finish third in the Challenger class on Stage 6 to finish the first week. We had a few tough days in the first week. The last stage was all in the sand and it was fun. For me, sand is my favourite terrain. We start the second week with a lot of energy and motivation. » – Kevin Benavides
5. Daniel Sanders is in pole position to make it back-to-back Bike wins. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider leads the general classification despite being hit with a six-minute penalty on Stage 6. If Sanders can maintain his lead all the way to Yanbu he’ll be the first rider to win two-in-a-row since Marc Coma did it over a decade ago.
« Going into the second week, the focus is on being cleaner, sharper and making better decisions in the navigation so we can really make the most of what we have. » – Daniel Sanders
Tomorrow morning is the time for all competitors still standing to get that race face back on! It’s another long, long day to get the second week of the 2026 Dakar Rally started. Stage 7 runs from Riyadh to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, featuring 462km of special stage in addition to a liaison route of 414km. The energy reserves that have been refreshed by the Rest Day will start to be depleted immediately on a predominately fast stage that will require 100 percent concentration throughout. It’ll be a major wake-up call to anyone who thinks that they already have this Dakar beaten.
Dakar Rally standings at Rest Day
ULTIMATE – Top 3 plus selected
1. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / F. Lurquin (BEL) – Dacia 24:18:29
2. H. Lategan (ZAF) / B. Cummings (ZAF) – Toyota +06:10
3. N. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) – Ford +09:13
4. C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – Ford +11:49
5. M. Ekström (SWE) / E. Bergvist (SWE) – Ford +12:11
6. S. Loeb (FRA) / É. Boulanger (FRA) – Dacia +17:36
7. M. Guthrie Jr. (USA) / K. Walch (USA) – Ford +21:49…
10. L. Moraes (BRA) / D. Zenz (GER) – Dacia +26:46…
13. C. Gutiérrez (ESP) / P. Moreno (ESP) – Dacia +33:15…
15. T. Price (AUS) / A. Monleón (ESP) – Toyota +39:02…
18. L. Sanz (ESP) / M. Gerini (ITA) – Ebro +01:04:31
19. S. Quintero (USA) / A. Short (USA) – Toyota +01:09:44…
38. G. De Mévius (BEL) / M. Baumel (FRA) – MINI +06:13:37
STOCK – Top 3
1. R. Baciuška (LTU) / O. Vidal (ESP) – Defender 29:12:58
2. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / M. Metge (FRA) – Defender +44:43
3. S. Price (USA) S. Berriman (USA) / – Defender +02:30:03
BIKE RallyGP – Top 3 plus selected
1. D. Sanders (AUS) – KTM 24:41:00
2. R. Brabec (USA) – Honda +00:45
3. L. Benavides (ARG) – KTM +10:15…
11. E. Canet (ESP) – KTM +10:57:27
CHALLENGER – Top 3 plus selected
1. P. Navarro (ESP) / J. Rosa (ESP) – Taurus 26:46:17
2. N. Cavigliasso (ARG) / V. Pertegarini (ARG) – Taurus +04:57
3. Y. Seaidan (KSA) / X. Flick (FRA) – Taurus +25:54…
9. D. Akeel (KSA) / S. Delaunay (FRA) – Taurus +02:12:16…
14. K. Benavides (ARG) / L. Sisterna (ARG) – Taurus +03:39:28
SSV – Top 3 plus selected
1. B. Heger (USA) / M.Eddy (USA) – Polaris 26:56:33
2. X. De Soultrait (FRA) / M. Bonnet (FRA) – Polaris +32:20
3. K. Chaney (USA) / J. Argubright (USA) – Can-Am +53:18…
5. G. Guerreiro (POR) / M. Justo (BRA) – Polaris +01:16:36
6. F. López (CHI) / A. León (CHI) – Can-Am +01:44:57…
9. J. Krisstoffersson (SWE) / O. Floene (NOR) – Polaris +02:52:30
QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « I like to see so many different manufacturers doing well at the Dakar. At the beginning MINI was leading, then Toyota, then Ford and now Dacia. We’ll be pushing hard in the second week of this Dakar to make sure we come out on top. »
Henk Lategan: « It would be nice to be one position higher of course, but I’m happy to be where we are after the start of the race that we had. So many punctures made it difficult for us in the first week. Opening the first stage was definitely not in our plans! Now we’ve put ourselves in a decent position. We have a nice road position for the next stage and things are still looking OK for us. »
Carlos Sainz: « I think it’s nice to have three different teams all in the front. At the Rest Day we see many drivers close together with the possibility to go for the win. It shows that our discipline is in a good status. I’ll do all I can to win and I’m ready to push in the second week. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « I always say I want to win so that’s always the plan. Going into this rally I wanted to pick up at least one stage win and we’ve got two already. Now I’ve checked that off I’m really focused on trying to go and win. »
Seth Quintero: « We had mostly ups and some downs in the first week. We take away as many positives as we can. We had one bad day with a lot of punctures and that’s something out of our control. Now we’re going to keep on keeping on and see how the rest of the rally goes. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « I think we made a very consistent race during the first week. Now I’m looking forward to the second week. We have some very long and hard stages coming up. We’ll be pushing with all four cars and we’ll see what’s going to happen. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « When you start a new program to bring a car to the Dakar it’s always complicated. We did 6,000 kilometres of testing before this rally, but still you have some apprehension at the start. Things have been running well for us and we’re placed one and two in the Stock category and our other car is in fourth overall. Apart from our positive stage results we are also really enjoying to drive the car and this is the most important thing of all. »
Kevin Benavides: « It was amazing to finish third in the Challenger class on Stage 6 at the end of the first week. We had a few tough days in the first week. The last stage was all in the sand and it was fun. For me, sand is my favourite terrain. We start the second week with a lot of energy and motivation. »
Johan Kristoffersson: « The Prologue wasn’t a great start. I made a mistake going too fast into the camel grass and we rolled. That put us far back in the field and it’s been tricky in the dust and rocks behind the trucks. Everything is new to me; the Dakar is new, the car and the roadbook. So there’s a lot to learn. During the marathon stage I was able to start enjoying the sport much more. The marathon experience of sleeping in the tent was really cool. I was worried that my first Dakar would be like jumping from a plane without a parachute, but I’ve had so much support. Ahead of the second week I’m feeling surprising fresh and ready to get going again. »
Kevin Hansen: « It’s my first time inside the Dakar Rally bivouac and I’m so lost! So it’s not just racing on the stages where you can get lost, you can also easily get lost in this huge bivouac. I’m seeing Defender, Dacia, Ford and Toyota. Really professional teams with great setups. It’s gets me very hungry to sit in one of these cars in maybe two or three years. »
Gonçalo Guerreiro: « The first week has been a rollercoaster. We were leading the race for a few hours before we had issues in the marathon stage. We dropped to the back of our SSV category, but I’m looking forward to a good second week. The punctures may have put us out of the race for an overall win, but we can still fight for the podium on the stages that are left to race. »
Daniel Sanders: « The first week hasn’t been as clean or controlled as we would have liked, and there were a few missed opportunities where we should have capitalised more on the pace we had. My speed and navigation have generally been very strong and physically I feel really good on the bike, but I’ve made some small mistakes that add up in rally racing, especially when you’re trying to build a gap. Going into the second week, the focus is on being cleaner, sharper and making better decisions in the navigation so we can really make the most of what we have. »
Luciano Benavides: « I believe we’re in the fight for a strong result. The feeling on the bike has been very good, the team has done an amazing job and I had no major issues in the marathon stage, plus a stage win already. Physically I’m not at 100 percent yet, but my rhythm and confidence are improving every day, so the Rest Day is important to recharge and be ready to push again in the second week. »
Edgar Canet: « The first week was crazy for me, probably the craziest week of my life. Starting the rally with a prologue win and then winning another stage was incredible and I’m really proud of that. Then in the rocky stages and during the marathon I arrived at the bivouac in good shape, but the next day I was pushing hard, catching the riders in front and I broke the rear wheel. That cost me a lot, around six hours including penalties and it took me out of the top positions. I’ve learned a lot in the first week and I’m ready to keep working hard and pushing again in the second. »
Christine Fial,