The Dacia Sandriders team arrived at the official rest day of the Dakar Rally in a strong position after setting a consistent pace in the opener of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.
After covering 3,636 kilometers, the team arrived in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Friday (9th) and is in first, third, sixth and tenth place in the provisional overall ranking.
The performance was made particularly significant by the impressive result on the sixth stage, when the Sandriders achieved a one-two victory (1–2) and thus consolidated the team’s lead. With seven stages and another 4,343 kilometers to go, the battle remains open, with no room for slacking.
At the top of the overall standings is Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah together with co-driver Fabian Lurquin. The duo had taken the lead after the second stage, but fell to tenth place on Tuesday due to two punctures. The reaction followed in the following days with the second fastest time on Wednesday and victory on the sixth stage, which was enough to regain the lead by a margin of 6 minutes and 10 seconds.
With this result, Al-Attiyah is approaching a historic milestone: he is just one stage win away from equaling the record of 50 Dakar stage wins, currently held jointly by Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen. The victory on stage six also marked the 19th consecutive Dakar in which the rider won at least one stage and underlines his consistency at the age of 55.
Another big name in the team is Sébastien Loeb, who competes together with co-driver Édouard Boulanger. After seven forced tire changes in the first six stages, the duo still have ground to make up in the second week, but are currently sixth overall, supported by the team’s first and second place finishes on Friday.
Brazilian world champion Lucas Moraes makes his competitive debut for the Dacia Sandriders and shares the vehicle with co-driver Dennis Zenz in their first season together in 2026. Despite initial setbacks, the duo have already shown their potential with two top-four stage times and finished the first week in tenth place overall.
The team’s quartet is completed by the Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, who also fought back after difficulties. After falling just 11 seconds shy of a personal stage best and suffering punctures, the duo recovered and started the final week inside the top 15 of the overall standings.
As we enter the decisive phase of the race, the Dacia Sandriders have four competitive vehicles in the field and remain one of the main players in the Dakar 2026 – in a competition that promises excitement right up to the last kilometer.
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Source and images: Dacia. This content was created with the support of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
