Dakar Rally 2026

The Dakar Rally is the world's most demanding off-road motorsport event, tracing its origins to a near-disaster in the desert. French motorcycle racer Thierry Sabine conceived the rally after getting lost on the Tchigai Plateau near Emi Fezzan during the 1977 Abidjan-Nice Race. He decided the terrain would be a perfect crucible for the world's toughest competitors, and on 26 December 1978, 182 vehicles departed Paris on a 10,000-kilometre journey to Dakar, Senegal. Only 74 finished.

For three decades the rally crossed Africa before security threats forced its cancellation in 2008. From 2009 to 2019 it ran through South America, but deteriorating relationships with host governments eventually pushed organisers to seek a new home. Since 2020 the event has been held entirely in Saudi Arabia, offering vast and largely unexplored desert terrain that has given the rally a fresh identity.

The 2026 edition ran from 3 to 17 January, spanning a Prologue and 13 competitive stages split by a rest day in Riyadh. The rally started and finished in Yanbu on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. New territory was opened up in the south and west of the country, taking the route through Al-Bahah, Aseer, and Jizan, regions the event had not previously visited.

The 2026 field brought together 317 competitors at the start line across all categories. Cars were split into several classes including 73 cars total and 8 T2 Stock production-based vehicles. The bike category drew 116 FIM entries divided among the professional RallyGP class, the privateer-focused Rally2 class, and Original by Motul, in which riders complete the route without external mechanical support.

Two significant format changes shaped the 2026 race. Organisers introduced marathon refuge stages in both the first and second weeks, combining classic marathon requirements with a format that left competitors isolated in sparsely equipped bivouacs without access to outside mechanical assistance. Select stages also incorporated mid-stage service points permitting tyre changes and quick repairs, a concession to safety on the longer desert sections.

The 2026 cars title went to Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin, who drove the Dacia Sandrider to victory, giving Al-Attiyah a sixth Dakar win and Dacia its first. It was a historic result for both the Qatari driver, who has now won with four different manufacturers, and for the French brand, which joined the W2RC championship specifically to pursue a Dakar title.

In the bikes category, Argentinian KTM rider Luciano Benavides won, ahead of Ricky Brabec in second place. The trucks class was claimed by Vaidotas Zala, Paulo Fiuza, and Max van Grol competing under the Nordis Team De Rooy FPT banner.

The 2026 Dakar expanded its Mission 1000 programme for alternative-energy vehicles, now in its third year, providing a real-world testing ground for zero-emission and hybrid propulsion technologies in extreme desert conditions.

All stages ran in Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+3). A 06:00 AST start translates to 03:00 GMT in London, 22:00 EST (previous day) in New York, and 12:00 JST in Tokyo.