Dacia edges Ford and Toyota as Al-Attiyah scores sixth win

Dacia star Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed a sixth Dakar Rally victory in 2026, moving to within two wins of the outright record held by Stephane Peterhansel.

In what was one of the most competitive Dakar campaigns in recent history, 10 different drivers representing five manufacturers scored individual stage wins, in stark contrast to last year’s Toyota-dominated event.

Al-Attiyah had his fair share of “yo-yo” swings over the course of the two-week rally-raid, but delivered when it mattered most with two crucial stage victories, while avoiding the misfortune that eliminated many of his closest rivals.

The first week of the rally saw Ford emerge as a serious contender, with all four of its factory drivers exploiting the upgraded Raptor to mount a sustained challenge to Toyota and Dacia. 

But the American marque’s form fluctuated sharply from day to day, with Toyota also suffering from similar inconsistency with its new-for-2026 Hilux. That volatility allowed Al-Attiyah to strike on Stage 6, where he claimed his first win of the rally and moved to the top of the leaderboard for the first time.

Despite that breakthrough, the fight for overall honours remained wide open into the second week, and it was not until Stage 10 that Al-Attiyah began to emerge as the clear favourite.

The decisive shift began on the second marathon stage, when Ford duo Mattias Ekstrom and Mitch Guthrie lost significant time due to navigation errors. A day later, four-time winner Carlos Sainz Sr suffered a similar fate, with a 15-minute penalty for missing a waypoint compounding his troubles.

Al-Attiyah’s path to victory was effectively cleared on Stage 11 when last year’s runner-up Henk Lategan also dropped out of contention with a broken wheel nut, leaving Nani Roma as his only realistic challenger. 

Armed with a 12-minute buffer heading into the final two days, the Qatari was able to control the closing stages and ultimately reach the finish line with a winning margin of 9m42s.

Now on six Dakar victories with four different manufacturers (Volkswagen, Mini, Toyota and Dacia), the 55-year-old stands among the most decorated drivers in the history of cross-country rallying. Only two more victories separate him and the legendary Peterhansel, who scored eight wins in the cars category in addition to his six successes on a motorcycle.

Further, the result marked just the second overall victory for the Renault Group in Dakar, following Claude Marreau’s triumph at the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1982 with a Renault 20 Turbo 4X4. Jean-Louis Schlesser later scored two Dakar wins in self-built, Renault-engined buggies.

Dakar 2026: Stage-by-stage results

Ford driver Roma came close to securing a third career win in Dakar and first since 2014, but ultimately had to settle for runner-up in his Ford Raptor.

The Spaniard lost time early in the week of the rally, but returned to contention when he was retroactively awarded victory on Stage 5. A crash on Stage 7 set him back again, but he took the overall lead two days later to put Ford back at the front. 

Ultimately, he was unable to match Al-Attiyah’s pace and was fortunate to even finish the rally after breaking his front axle just before the end of the penultimate stage. He required assistance from his Ford team-mates, and then a tow from Laia Sanz’s Ebro, just to reach the bivouac.

#227 Ford M-Sport Ford: Nani Roma, Alex Haro Bravo

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

While Al-Attiyah’s victory was sealed early, the battle for the final podium spot raged on between Ekstrom and Sebastien Loeb until the final day.

Two-time DTM champion Ekstrom had been one of the standout performers of Dakar 2026, as reflected by his three stage victories, plus his triumph on the Prologue. But after losing more than 30 minutes on Stage 9, he was forced into fending off the other Dacia of Loeb, who had quietly climbed his way near the front with a series of consistent performances.

Ekstrom ultimately hung on to third place by 37s after winning the final stage, matching his best result from 2023. Loeb had to settle for fourth after failing to register a stage win for only the third time in his career.

Fifth place in the standings went to Sainz Sr, who recovered from an unusually slow start to the rally to rise to second place through consistent showings. But the 45 minutes he lost on Stage 10 ultimately decided his fate in Dakar, as he finished the rally 28m30s behind winner Al-Attiyah.

Mathieu Serradori capped off a strong outing for Century in 2026, highlighted by his brilliant victory on Stage 10 when most of his rivals faltered.

Reigning World Rally-Raid Champion Lucas Moraes finished seventh in his first competitive outing with Dacia, just over an hour off the lead.

Two-time bikes winner Toby Price led the Toyota contingent in eighth, narrowly beating his more experienced team-mate Seth Quintero.

The Japanese manufacturer arrived in 2026 with high hopes and flexed its muscle on Stage 2 with a 1-2-3-4-5 finish. But with Quintero losing a heap of time due to mechanical problems the following day and Saood Variawa also running into trouble on Stage 7, it was effectively left with one runner in the victory fight: Lategan.

#202 Toyota Gazoo Racing W2Rc Toyota: Henk Lategan, Brett Cummings

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The South African won Stage 4 to take the overall lead and remained in contention even as he battled through multiple issues, including a broken rear damper that denied him a win on Stage 7 and a power steering issue that compromised him on Stage 9. However, his luck ran out on Stage 11 when a wheel nut on the rear of his Hilux broke, costing him more than four hours.

This left Price and Quintero as Toyota’s best representatives, although Variawa also recovered to finish 10th.

Reigning champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi became an early retiree from Dakar on Stage 4 when he withdrew due to mechanical issues. The Saudi driver had already dropped out of the victory fight with a spate of punctures.

In his absence, it was Marek Goczal who emerged as the leading independent driver in 13th, although it was his son Eryk who scored a breakthrough win for Toyota customer Energylandia on Stage 9.

While the X-raid Mini started Dakar 2026 with a victory, courtesy of Guillaume de Mevius, none of its drivers finished inside the top 20 in the overall standings.

Dakar Rally – Overall results:

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