Car swings & roundabouts, KTM in charge in the bikes
Dakar’s 2026 game of ping pong continued apace as Thursday’s later starters, who finished well back on Wednesday, once again trounced the cars that dominated on the previous day. Although the field was far tighter, Spanish Ford Raptor crew Nani Roma and Álex Haro started 15th and shadowed Tuesday winners US crew Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch, who set off in sixteenth, to steal the day win, only to be relegated back to second behind the Americans on a penalty.
Czech Raptor privateers Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytka made it a Ford 1-2-3 ahead of fourteenth starters, Brazilian Lucas Moraes, and Dennis Zenz’ Dacia Sandrider. Two more Raptors followed to once again paint Dakar Ford blue on its alternative day. Germans Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist started 12th and benefited Spanish teammates Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz taking a penalty after starting 13thto grab fifth.
Joao Portuguese Joao Ferreira and Felipe Palmero’s SVR Hilux followed from Simon Vitse and Max Delfino’s MD Optimus, while South African Guy Botterill and Spaniard Oriol Mena’s SVR Hilux came from 29th to ninth, and American Seth Quintero and Andrew Short’s Overdrive Hilux closed off the top ten.
Lategan & Cummings still lead Dakar
Like on Wednesday, the Cars, and Bikes raced on separate routes, which meant that the leading cars did not have the advantage of bike tracks to follow. But with the race heading into the deep desert and dunes, there were also less rocks and hopefully fewer punctures to allow the car crews to just race. Some say that the extremely advanced Ultimate machines have become so advanced, that they have left the tyre technology behind. Which is why the likes of 2025 winner, home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi was forced to retire when he ran out of spare wheels on Wednesday.
All of which meant that best of Wednesday’s top ten, Frenchmen Sebastien Loeb and Eduard Boulanger went from fifth to eleventh on Thursday. Teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin’s Dacia Sandrider managed 14th from second, Wednesday winners South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Overdrive Hilux haemorrhaged twelve minutes opening the road en route to 16th., and third men Mical Goczal and Diego Ortega’s Hilux only managed 22nd .
Through all that and despite opening the road on virgin terrain, Lategan and expert navigator Cummings raced home without issues to still emerge overall leaders on Thursday. They will likely score when they run in the pack on Friday’s 340 km run to Riyadh with bike tracks to follow once again, ahead of Saturday’s well-earned rest day. Which leaves a most interesting strategic battle between the alternate day flyers, Lategan and Cummings, Al Attiyah and Lurquin in second, fourth men Roma and Haro and Guthrie and Wallach now sixth, and several crews who seem to be pacing their way through Dakar 2026.
A good day for Botterill
Ever consistent Ekstrom and Bergqvist in third overall, have placed fifth, thirteenth, fifth, twelfth and fifth over the five days of Dakar 2026 so far. Sainz and Boulanger have ended 8th, 7th, 16th, seventh and sixth to sit fifth. Loeb and Boulanger, Serradori and Minaudier, and South African Champion Saood Variawa and Frenchman Francois Cazalet’s SVR Gazoo Toyota Hilux, among others, have also placed consistently inside or around the top ten to sit within twenty minutes, or so, of the violently fluctuating race lead. This battle of wits promises to be a most intriguing aspect of the final week of Dakar 2026.
Elsewhere, Saudi heroine Dania Akeel led Chilean Lucas del Rio and fellow Saudi overall leader Yasir Seaidan and in the T3 Challengers. Americans Kyle Chaney Can Am and overall leader Brock Heger’s Polaris and Portuguese driver Joao Monteiro fought over the T4 Side by Side lead throughout special.
Defender trio US lass Sara Price and Sean Berriman, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel and Michaël Metge and class leaders Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska and Oriol Vidal were once again in control in the Stock category, and Dutchman Mitchel van den Brink led Czech MMT teammate and overall leader Martin Macik and Ales Loprais’ Iveco in the Trucks.
Benavides took the bike stage
On two wheels, KTM continued to dominate the 2026 Dakar Bike race when Luciano Benavides took the day win and Daniel Sanders moved back into the overall lead on Thursday’s firth stage. In a mixed day for the remaining Southern Africans, Durbanite Bradley Cox enjoyed his best run so far in fourth as he climbed to eighth overall, but it was a day to forget for Motswana Ross Branch.
KTM’s Spanish super rookie Édgar Canet was fastest in the opening sector of the second half of the first Marathon stage on to Ha’il, Saudi Arabia. He led Bradley Cox, who clearly had the right breakfast before mounting his Factory Sherco, Argentine Luciano Benavides’ KTM, Chilean Hero Moto rider Ignacio Cornejo, Frenchman Adrien van Beveren’s Factory Honda CRF450, French Rally 2 leader Neels Theric on his Kove and Aussie 2025 Dakar winner Daniel Sanders’ Factory KTM 450 Rally.
Canet continued to lead while Cornejo, Benavides, Cox, Theric and Sanders jockeyed for position behind. Branch seemed to be fighting an issue on his Hero as he consistently lost time before Frenchman Adrien van Beveren stopped for 20 minutes to remove wire from his wheel. Canet still led Cox, Cornejo, Theric and Sanders at half distance, but it was all change 50 kilometres later.
Best day so far for Brad Cox
Benavides went ahead of Canet and Cox by a minute, with Cornejo also close. But Canet ground to a halt and was feverishly trying to get his KTM back to life. That left Benavides three minutes ahead of Cox, Cornejo, Theric and Sanders, with Honda trio Ricky Brabec, Tosha Schareina and Skyler Howes in chase as they opened the road.
There were a few changes through to the finish as Benavides came through to win KTM’s fifth of six stages so far this year from Cornejo, Cox, Schareina and Brabec. Theric took a second Rally 2 win on the trot from Konrad Dabrowski’s KTM and Honda lad Preston Campbell. Behind them van Beveren, Branch and Canet struggled home well down.
That sees Sanders back into a two-minute overall lead for KTM from Honda men Schareina and Brabec, Cornejo’s Hero and Honda duo Skyler Howes and van Beveren. Brad Cox is up to eighth ahead of Rally 2 leaders Campbell and Dabrowski..
Sanders back in the bike lead
Ross Branch has slipped to 10th, Edgar Canet provisionally 33rd. Benjamin Melot leads the no service original class on his KTM after Josep Pedrero won another stage on his Husqvarna.
Friday’s 340 km run to Riyadh precedes Saturday’s well-earned rest day, Your Dakar Report is powered by Tork Craft tools and Toyota Gazoo Racing.
