There were broken bones and dreams crushed in the sand and stones of Stage 10 of the 2026 Dakar Rally. Defending bike race champion Daniel Sanders showed immense bravery to finish the stage despite crashing and breaking his collarbone. In the Ultimate class there was a navigational error or mechanical mishap on every singe kilometre of today’s 421km timed special stage. These continual setbacks struck the entire chasing pack, leaving Nasser Al-Attiyah to extend his lead with three race days remaining.
Last season put Daniel Sanders in the record books. Dakar victory was followed by three more race wins as the Australian was crowned with the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship title. The Australian was on a quest in 2026 to become the first biker to win back-to-back Dakars in over a decade. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider’s mission was dealt a cruel blow today when he suffered a broken collarbone after crashing heavily on the dunes of Stage 10.
« Unfortunately we’ve broken some bones. It was pretty scary. At 140km I went over a dune and nearly landed on Tosha (Schareina). I got up and knew the collarbone was broken and also the sternum. I’m in a lot of pain. Now I’ll go back to the team to evaluate the injuries. I wouldn’t have finished today if I didn’t want to continue. Mum and Dad didn’t raise no quitter. Unless they drag me out of the race I’m not stopping. » – Daniel Sanders
Sanders was helped up after his crash by Honda rival Ricky Brabec, that’s the spirit of the Dakar right there! Amazingly, Sanders rode the remaining 200km through the dunes to complete the stage despite his injuries. Sanders was reunited with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team-mate Luciano Benavides at the end of the stage. The Argentinian biker is left to fly the flag for KTM at the front of the race, but his day was not without its own complications.
« It was a crazy, crazy day. I made a mistake after the refuel and got stuck in a dune. I lost five minutes there. In one moment I was thinking my Dakar was over. I was digging in the sand to get my bike out. After a few minutes Brad Cox and Neels Theric stopped to help me. Today was a good chance to get some time back, but in the end I threw away another five minutes. Now it’s time to regroup, get some rest and reset for tomorrow. » – Luciano Benavides
The second part of this Marathon-Refuge Stage was the most dramatic day so far at this Dakar. Third Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Edgar Canet was on hand to help out a pair of crashed riders on Stage 10. The 20-year-old also demonstrating the unique camaraderie between competitors that exists on this race.
« After one kilometre I stopped to help a guy who had a crash until the helicopter came to pick him up. Then 45km from the end I stopped to help another crashed rider. I was with him for an hour. This is part of this race, but it’s not good to see. » – Edgar Canet
On both legs of this latest epic Marathon-Refuge Stage the bikes and cars were kept separate. This meant no bike tracks for the four-wheeled competitors to follow and plenty of navigational puzzles to solve on the fly. One of the few Ultimate class crews to come through the 48-hour test without too much damage was the Dacia Sandriders pairing of Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin.
« It’s been a tough couple of days for the body and the mind. It’s not that I am too old, but my body’s been through a lot, especially my neck. We’re happy, and also lucky, to come through these very tricky stages with no big problems. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
It’s incredible that after 10 stages Al-Attiyah’s closest rival is Henk Lategan given everything that’s happened to the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver at this Dakar. The South African picked up a record number of punctures in the first week, had to make numerous running repairs to his Toyota Hilux and was forced to put on goggles to finish Stage 9 after a collision put through his windshield. Of course there was even more drama for Lategan on Stage 10 after the convoy camped out overnight away from their service crews.
« Every single thing that could go wrong has gone wrong at this race. We lost power steering yesterday and we ran out of fuel today. Our car is mechanically perfect, but it doesn’t go without fuel. Luckily today we had our team-mate Toby (Price) driving behind us, he towed us to the finish. It feels like luck has been really upset and angry with us on this rally. The most surprising thing of all is that we’re still semi-close to the lead. » – Henk Lategan
Lategan was not alone with his power steering failure on the dunes of Stage 9. Nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb also suffered the same fate. However, the Frenchman battled back for a podium finish today, the same day that the bivouac pays tribute to Dakar Rally founder Thierry Sabine on the 40th anniversary of his fatal helicopter crash.
« This was a much better day than the previous one when we had a problem with the power steering. Today we had little navigation issues here and there, but no big losses. We also had two punctures. Overall, we kept up a good speed and enjoyed the stage. » – Sébastien Loeb
It’s now looking an uphill battle for Carlos Sainz to score his fifth Dakar win at this edition of the rally. Despite doing donuts in the desert, Sainz and experienced co-driver Lucas Cruz were hit with a 15-minute penalty due to missing one of the many well hidden waypoints on Stage 10.
« Unfortunately we couldn’t find one waypoint. We were going up and down, up and down, but we did not catch it. We’ll have 15 minutes extra because of that. We were turning and turning and turning. It was a very difficult situation. » – Carlos Sainz
There was a near miss in the Stock category when 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel found himself stuck behind a cut dune. Digging out his Defender Dakar D7X‑R was risky business for Monsieur Dakar as a steady flow of race vehicles came over his dune at high-speed.
« Today we got stuck behind a dune right beside my team-mate Sara (Price). We were working to get free when a truck arrived and crashed into the back of my car. 30 seconds before I was stood right there. It’s really scary to be stuck behind a dune when cars and trucks are arriving. It was a stressful situation. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
The second week charge in the Challenger class by Kevin Benavides is still in full swing with three stages left to race. The two-time Dakar bike race champion has adapted quickly to life on four wheels. The Argentinian backed up yesterday’s runner-up stage result with another podium drive on Stage 10.
« Yesterday we were second on the stage and today we had good speed again. We hit the sand hard and got two punctures so we got out and fixed that. It was a tough marathon stage, very long and physical. Our car was perfect so we could finish very well. » – Kevin Benavides
Everything at this Dakar has been a new experience for eight-time World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson. Despite all the whacky races going on around him on the dunes, the Swede was enjoying himself… until he got stuck in the sand.
« I enjoyed driving with my team-mates in the dunes. I learned a lot from them and it was a great experience. After the refuel I pulled over to let one car through and I got stuck. I was there for 15 minutes and that was a bad one to deal with. » – Johan Kristoffersson
After surviving the dunes of the Marathon-Refuge Stage just gone, Stage 11 will be a 347-kilometre test of navigation. A maze of intersections, forks and junctions will all need to be correctly calculated on the route between Bisha and Al Henakiyah. Competitors will have to dig deep into their reserves of endurance as exhaustion inevitably begins to adversely affect both mind and body.
2026 Dakar Rally Stage 10 results
ULTIMATE – Top 3 plus selected
1. M. Serradori (FRA) / L. Minaudier (FRA) – Century 04:48:27
2. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / F. Lurquin (BEL) – Dacia +06:12
3. S. Loeb (FRA) / É. Boulanger (FRA) – Dacia +09:20
4. L. Moraes (BRA) / D. Zenz (GER) – Dacia +09:54…
6. H. Lategan (ZAF) / B. Cummings (ZAF) – Toyota +13:09…
8. M. Guthrie Jr. (USA) / K. Walch (USA) – Ford +16:35…
11. N. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) – Ford +20:12…
14. S. Quintero (USA) / A. Short (USA) – Toyota +23:28…
17. L. Sanz (ESP) / M. Gerini (ITA) – Ebro +27:40
18. M. Ekström (SWE) / E. Bergvist (SWE) – Ford +30:22…
25. G. De Mévius (BEL) / M. Baumel (FRA) – MINI +36:10…
30. T. Price (AUS) / A. Monleón (ESP) – Toyota +40:09…
35. C. Gutiérrez (ESP) / P. Moreno (ESP) – Dacia +42:42…
38. C. Sainz (ESP) / L. Cruz (ESP) – Ford +45:34…
BIKE RallyGP – Top 3 plus selected
1. A. Van Beveren (FRA) – Honda 04:15:43
2. R. Brabec (USA) – Honda +03:49
3. L. Benavides (ARG) – KTM +04:04…
8. E. Canet (ESP) – KTM +21:33
9. D. Sanders (AUS) – KTM +27:50…
STOCK – Top 3
1. R. Baciuška (LTU) / O. Vidal (ESP) – Defender 06:09:01
2. S. Price (USA) S. Berriman (USA) / – Defender +21:41
3. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / M. Metge (FRA) – Defender +22:26
CHALLENGER – Top 3 plus selected
1. P. Spierings (NED) / J. Van Der Stelt (NED) – Taurus 05:14:55
2. Y. Seaidan (KSA) / X. Flick (FRA) – Taurus +02:50
3. K. Benavides (ARG) / L. Sisterna (ARG) – Taurus +03:22…
5. D. Akeel (KSA) / S. Delaunay (FRA) – Taurus +06:01…
SSV – Top 3 plus selected
1. B. Heger (USA) / M.Eddy (USA) – Polaris 05:18:14
2. X. De Soultrait (FRA) / M. Bonnet (FRA) – Polaris +01:15
3. J. Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG) / G. Rinaldi (ARG) – Can-Am +05:09
4. F. López (CHI) / A. León (CHI) – Can-Am +09:20
5. J. Krisstoffersson (SWE) / O. Floene (NOR) – Polaris +14:25…
Dakar Rally standings after Stage 10
ULTIMATE – Top 5
1. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / F. Lurquin (BEL) – Dacia 41:39:50
2. H. Lategan (ZAF) / B. Cummings (ZAF) – Toyota +12:00
3. N. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) – Ford +12:50
4. S. Loeb (FRA) / É. Boulanger (FRA) – Dacia +23:04
5. M. Serradori (FRA) / L. Minaudier (FRA) – Century +33:42…
BIKE RallyGP – Top 5
1. R. Brabec (USA) – Honda +06:24
2. L. Benavides (ARG) – KTM +07:05
3. T. Schareina (ESP) – Honda +15:28
4. D. Sanders (AUS) – KTM +17:37
5. S. Howes (USA) – Honda +38:53…
STOCK – Top 5
1. R. Baciuška (LTU) / O. Vidal (ESP) – Defender 49:25:39
2. S. Price (USA) S. Berriman (USA) / – Defender +03:29:11
3. R. Basso (FRA) / J Menard (FRA) – Toyota +05:17:57
4. S. Peterhansel (FRA) / M. Metge (FRA) – Defender +38:15:34
5. A. Miura (JPN) / J. Polato (FRA) – Toyota +51:11:31…
CHALLENGER – Top 5
1. P. Navarro (ESP) / J. Rosa (ESP) – Taurus 40:47:03
2. Y. Seaidan (KSA) / X. Flick (FRA) – Taurus +18:30
3. L. Del Rio (CHI) / B. Jacomy (ARG) – Taurus +45:48
4. D. Zille (ARG) / S. Cesana (ARG) – Taurus +51:24
5. P. Klaassen (NED) / A. Sanz (ARG) – KTM +01:07:30…
SSV – Top 5
1. B. Heger (USA) / M.Eddy (USA) – Polaris 46:40:17
2. K. Chaney (USA) / J. Argubright (USA) – Can-Am +01:01:47
3. X. De Soultrait (FRA) / M. Bonnet (FRA) – Polaris +01:20:54
4. F. López (CHI) / A. León (CHI) – Can-Am +01:47:29
5. J. Monteiro (POR) / N. Morais (POR) – Can-Am +02:30:45…
QUOTES
Daniel Sanders: « Unfortunately weve broken some bones. It was pretty scary. At 140km I went over a dune and nearly landed on Tosha. I got up and knew the collarbone was broken and also the sternum. I’m in a lot of pain. I can’t really lift my arm up at all. It’s not nice when you can feel it poking the skin. The worse part was riding in the dunes and letting the race get away. It’s all about surviving now. It’s a shame because we had the lead, but we can’t change anything now. Now I’ll go back to the team to evaluate the injuries and see if it’s safe to continue. I wouldn’t have finished today if I didn’t want to continue. Mum and Dad didn’t raise no quitter. Unless they drag me out of the race I’m not stopping. »
Luciano Benavides: « It was a crazy, crazy day. I made a mistake after the refuel and got stuck in a dune. I lost five minutes there. In one moment I was thinking my Dakar was over. I was digging in the sand to get my bike out. After a few minutes Brad Cox and Neels Theric stopped to help me. Today was a good chance to get some time back, but in the end I threw away another five minutes. I also missed the same dune as Daniel and nearly crashed there. I saw him in lots of pain at the refuelling. Hopefully he can stay in the race. I want to carrying on giving my maximum at this Dakar. Today was not perfect so now it’s time to regroup, get some rest and reset for tomorrow. »
Edgar Canet: « After one kilometre I stopped to help a guy who had a crash until the helicopter came to pick him up. Then 45km from the end I stopped to help another crashed rider. I was with him for an hour, doing what I could to be sure everything was on point. This is part of this race, but it’s not good to see it. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « It’s been a tough couple of days for the body and the mind. It’s not that I am too old, but my body’s been through a lot, especially my neck. We tried to push from the beginning until the last kilometre of this marathon stage. We’re happy, and also lucky, to come through these very tricky stages with no big problems. We’ve increased our lead in the overall and this is our target. »
Sébastien Loeb: « This was a much better day than the previous one when we had a problem with the power steering. Today we had little navigation issues here and there, but no big losses. We also had two punctures. Overall, we kept up a good speed and enjoyed the stage. »
Henk Lategan: « Every single thing that could go wrong has gone wrong at this race. We lost power steering yesterday and we ran out of fuel today. We also got lost twice again today looking for waypoints. This is not how you win the Dakar. Our car is mechanically perfect, but it doesn’t go without fuel. Luckily today we had our team-mate Toby driving behind us. When we ran out of fuel he towed us to the finish of the stage. We have a great team and a great car, it just feels like luck has been really upset and angry with us on this rally. The most surprising thing of all is that we’re still semi-close to the lead. »
Carlos Sainz: « Unfortunately we couldn’t find one waypoint. We were trying, going up and down, up and down, but we did not catch it. We’ll have 15 minutes extra because of that. We were turning and turning and turning. It was a very difficult situation. »
Toby Price: « Henk had an issue with fuel so we towed the boys in for the last 9km. We knew opening the stage was going to be difficult and it was. The panel work of the car is battered and bruised after two tough marathon days. It was a chaotic couple of days, but we’re here in one piece. »
Nani Roma: « We’re tired after an exhausting marathon stage. Today we lost eight minutes finding a waypoint. We knew today would be tough so we’re happy to get it done. It was tough to open and Nasser caught up a lot of time. That’s just part of the game. »
Lucas Moraes: « Today we had a great pace until we hit a ditch 80km from the finish. We started hearing some noises coming from the car so we just cruised until the finish. I want to thank the whole Dacia Sandriders team because the car was so good to drive on both marathon days. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « Yesterday we had an oil leak that cost us an hour and our spot in the rally. Today we stopped to help Mattias with a mechanical and cruised the rest of the day. Now we’ll target stage wins and support the team however we can. »
Guillaume De Mévius: « Today we got stuck in the sand while opening the road and this cost us time. It wasn’t the best day, but we’re still here and we want to finish this rally. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « Today was a little bit stressful for us. Since we left the Rest Day in Riyadh we’ve had some complicated issues. Today we got stuck behind a dune right beside my team-mate Sara. We were working to get free when a truck arrived and crashed into the back of my car. 30 seconds before I was stood right there. It’s really scary to be stuck behind a dune when cars and trucks are arriving. It was a stressful situation. »
Kevin Benavides: « Yesterday we were second on the stage and today we had good speed again. We hit the sand hard and got two punctures so we got out and fixed that. It was a tough marathon stage, very long and physical. Our car was perfect so we could finish very well. »
Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López: « Another tough marathon stage, the second marathon stage of this Dakar. Today the sand was very soft and a couple of the waypoints were tricky to find. We have three days left to change our position in the overall. »
Johan Kristoffersson: « I enjoyed driving with my team-mates in the dunes. I learned a lot from them and it was a great experience. After the refuel I pulled over to let one car through and I got stuck. I was there for 15 minutes and that was a bad one to deal with! »
Christine Fial,