The Dacia Sandriders have emerged as the pace-setters at the Dakar Rally’s rest day, taking early control of the opening round of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship after a commanding first week in Saudi Arabia. After 3,636 kilometers of competition, the team arrived in Riyadh on Friday, 9 January holding four cars inside the top 15 overall. A dominant one-two finish on Stage 6 lifted the Sandriders to first, sixth, 10th and 13th in the provisional standings, reinforcing their position at the front of the sport’s toughest rally.
With seven stages and 4,343 kilometers still to come, the battle is far from settled, but Dacia enters the second half of the event with a clear advantage. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin lead the rally after a dramatic opening week. The Qatari driver headed the standings after Stage 2 before a double tire deflation dropped the pair to 10th. A second-fastest time on Wednesday and a Stage 6 victory on Friday completed their recovery, restoring them to the top of the leaderboard with a 6-minute 10-second margin.
The latest win moves Al-Attiyah within one stage of equaling the all-time Dakar record of 50 stage victories, held jointly by Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen. It also marked his 19th consecutive Dakar edition with at least one stage win, further underlining his consistency at the age of 55. Despite a difficult first week that included seven tire changes, Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger remain in contention in sixth place overall. Their second-place finish on Stage 6 helped secure a one-two result for Dacia and keeps them within striking distance heading into the final stages.
Reigning world champion Lucas Moraes, competing in Dakar for the first time with new co-driver Dennis Zenz, has also shown strong pace. Two top-four stage results have helped the Brazilian pair reach the rest day in 10th overall after overcoming early setbacks. Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno round out Dacia’s line-up in the top 15. After narrowly missing a career-best fourth place on Stage 3 due to tire damage, the Spanish crew recovered well and will begin the second week comfortably inside the leading group.
Preserving Tires
Given the hugely tough nature of the Dakar Rally terrain, The Dacia Sandriders worked closely with technical partner BFGoodrich to eradicate instances of tread punctures, which had been an issue on previous editions of the event. Philip Dunabin, Technical Director of The Dacia Sandriders, explained: “We knew from previous editions of the rally that there were certain stages that were really difficult in terms of punctures. In past years, there have been a lot of tread punctures, and most of the development work was concentrated on resolving the problem. We started working quite a while ago with BFGoodrich in Morocco to decide on a new construction of tire, which is better in terms of comfort for the driver, better in terms of its grip and performance, plus added resistance for tread punctures.
Key Moments
Stage 1 (Yanbu to Yanbu, Sunday 4 January):
While Al-Attiyah / Lurquin charge through the first 305 timed kilometers in Saudi Arabia as the second quickest crew, Loeb / Boulanger are less fortunate. Having run as high as second, they suffer two damaged tyres and drop to 14th, before they battle back to complete Stage 1 in 10th. Moraes begins his FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title defense and life as a driver for The Dacia Sandriders with the 11th fastest time alongside navigator Zenz. After completing Saturday’s prologue second of The Dacia Sandriders’ quartet, Gutiérrez / Moreno ensure that the team’s four crews all finish Stage 1 in the top 15, despite a damaged tire.
Stage 2 (Yanbu to AlUla, Monday 5 January):
The Dacia Sandriders leads the Dakar Rally for the first time in its short history with Al-Attiyah / Lurquin on top after they trade speed for caution through the challenging rocky sections to set the eighth best time from second on the road. Delayed by two punctures on Stage 1, Loeb / Boulanger also adopt a cautious approach, going seventh fastest to climb from 10th to fifth in the overall order. Moraes/Zenz are delayed by tire damage and a mechanical issue as they near the stage finish. They hold 13th place after two stages. Slowed by tire damage on Stage 1, Gutiérrez / Moreno completed a trouble-free day to maintain 15th overall.
Stage 3 (AlUla to AlUla, Tuesday 6 January):
Strong performances from Moraes / Zenz and Gutiérrez / Moreno allow the pairings to set the fourth and fifth fastest times respectively to hold sixth and seventh overall. Had it not been for a punctured tire, Gutiérrez / Moreno could have achieved a new personal best stage result. Instead, they come within 11 seconds of bettering their previous benchmark as they climb up from 15th. Overnight leaders Al-Attiyah / Lurquin run second on the road and enjoy a promising start to the day only to suffer two damaged tires at the 330-kilometre mark and drop to 10th. Fifth overall starting Stage 3 and sixth in the provisional order following 41 kilometers of running, Loeb / Boulanger are forced to stop twice to change tires in the opening 100 kilometers. Having used their supply of spare tires and determined to avoid retiring for the day by picking up a further deflation, the Frenchmen adopt an ultra-cautious approach for the remainder of the stage, which Loeb reports driving at “20 per cent” in his efforts to complete the 421-kilometre timed route.
Stage 4 (AlUla to Refuge Marathon, Wednesday 7 January):
Al-Attiyah / Lurquin complete Stage 4 with the second fastest time to move up from 10th in the overall ranking to the provisional runner-up spot, despite hanging dust and a damaged tire delaying their progress earlier in the day. From being 11m39s from the lead on Tuesday evening, Al-Attiyah / Lurquin are now 3m55s from top spot. Loeb / Boulanger battle up the leaderboard from 12th to eighth by going fifth quickest. The French duo reached the initial time check at 43 kilometers, leading the day classification. But in a virtual repeat of Tuesday, they adopt a cautious approach after depleting their supply of spare tires after a double deflation at the 130-kilometre mark. Tire damage and their early road order restrict Moraes / Zenz to the 21st fastest time and 12th overall. Gutiérrez / Moreno reached the bivouac refuge point 10th in the overall ranking, having been saddled by their high starting position.
Stage 5 (Refuge Marathon to Ha’il, Thursday 8 January):
While Al-Attiyah / Lurquin close the gap to the leaders by maintaining second overall, Moraes/Zenz hold third on the stage for large chunks, eventually finishing part two of the event’s first marathon stage fourth quickest, their efforts not helped by having to drive in the dust of cars running ahead of them. Nevertheless, they climb from 12th to 7th overall. From being 3m55s adrift of first on Wednesday, Al-Attiyah / Lurquin excelled to minimize the potential time loss by running second on the road and close to within 3m17s of first. They could have been even closer to the front, but for a two-minute penalty handed out when they inadvertently exceeded the speed limit in a controlled zone. Fifth on the road and in fightback mode following significant tire-related delays on Tuesday and Wednesday, Loeb / Boulanger finished Stage 5 12th fastest and remains eighth overall. Gutiérrez/Moreno suffered tire damage and finished 14th.
Stage 6 (Ha’il to Riyadh, Friday 9 January):
Quickest by nine seconds after 162 kilometers, Al-Attiyah / Lurquin grow their advantage to 47s at the 186-kilometre time check, a performance that elevates them from second to first in the overall ranking. And there is no slowing down thereafter with the pair reaching 248 kilometers, leading the stage by 1m50s. They eventually take the stage win by 2m58s and turn a deficit of 3m17s into an overall lead of 6m10s. Loeb / Boulanger complete a historic 1-2 for The Dacia Sandriders – its first on the Dakar Rally and third in the W2RC – despite having changed a damaged tire during the stage. Moraes/Zenz battle against their high starting order of fourth to finish the stage in 16th place and maintain their grip on a top-10 overall position. Gutiérrez / Moreno switch to a supporting role for Al-Attiyah / Lurquin and complete Stage 6 with the 15th-quickest time. They move up from 14th to 13th in the current ranking.
Provisional Results after Stage 6
- 1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 24h18m29s
- 6th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +17m36s
- 10th: Lucas Moreas (BRA) / Dennis Zenz (GER), +26m46s
- 13th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) / Pablo Moreno (ESP), +33m45s
Next up: Stage 7
Following the Rest Day in Riyadh, week two of the 2026 Dakar Rally begins on 11 January with a stage consisting mainly of sandy but relatively fast tracks, with occasional dense bush lining the route. The event heads south to Wadi ad-Dawasir during another lengthy day in the desert.
Above contents © 2026 Dacia / Renault Group, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee
