The Saudi Al Rajhi defends the title in a very tough edition: 8,000 km, renewed marathon stages, separate routes and a caravan of 325 vehicles. Castera: “Adventure and discovery remain the essence”
There are things money can’t buy. Saudi Yazeed Al Rajhi, winner of the 2025 Dakar on Toyota, knows this well. A billionaire driver, Yazeed could buy almost anything considering the economic power of the family, but not a victory in the most grueling rally in the world. The ingredients that made the famous Paris Dakar – an icon in the world of rally raids – do not change: an extreme adventure to discover the unknown. The French organizers of ASO (Amaury Sport Organization) were good at maintaining the myth of a race that explored three different continents: Africa, South America and the Middle East.
The route
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Now in its seventh year in Saudi Arabia, the in-depth knowledge of the territory has allowed Rally Director David Castera to design a route that meets the needs of a very tough race for the drivers, but more sustainable for the support teams with four daisy-chain stages, in addition to the start and finish from Yanbu on the coast of the Red Sea. A ring of 8,000 kilometres, of which 4,900 against the clock will be the stage for what Casterà himself defined as “one of the most complete and balanced editions ever”. Despite his great responsibilities, Castera continues to do reconnaissance and design the route. “It’s the thing I love most: the creative side of the rally. I love finding those unknown passages, finding the right mix between rocks and sand, as well as finding solutions every time to surprise the participants and keep the adventure high, the main ingredient of this rally”, commented David, who was a motorcycle and car driver before moving on to direct the most iconic rally in the world.
The caravan
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325 vehicles will line up at the start on January 3rd in Yanbu to return on the 17th after having explored the entire country: 118 motorbikes and 207 cars divided into the various FIA categories (72 Ultimate, 37 Challenger, 43 SSV, 8 Stock and 47 trucks). Added to these are 97 vehicles entered in the Dakar Classic – 74 cars and 23 trucks – ready to relive the legend with a record route of 7,348 km.
adventure
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The 2026 edition will maintain the distinctive features of the rally: extreme stages, complex navigation, endless sand and breathtaking scenery. But it will also propose important innovations. In the middle of the first week, the marathon stages will return in a renewed version: the competitors will sleep in “essential” bivouacs, without external assistance, relying only on the solidarity of their companions. Stage 7, the longest with a total of 925 km of which 336 are special, will be the decisive test before the rest day in Riyadh. The race will then restart towards Wadi Ad-Dawasir, with a second refuge-style marathon and separate routes for motorbikes and cars. The final stage, from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, promises treacherous navigation and twists and turns until the final kilometre. In the Dakar, everyone knows, a grain of sand is enough to change history.
the news
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To everyone’s surprise, the 2026 route will not enter the boundless desert of the Empty Quarter, the scene of many twists and turns in previous editions. However, there will be no shortage of sand, because this is the nature of the Saudi terrain, characterized by sand, dunes and sharp rocks that will put the vehicles at the start to the test. One certainty: this year too the Dakar will be very tough. Director Castera prefers to call it “A Dakar of maturity”. Since 2019, the Frenchman has introduced many new features including the first colored and then electronic roadbook, the 48 Hours Chrono, the separate car and motorbike routes, the Dakar Classic and Mission 1000, a laboratory for green cars. “This year we wanted to optimize the experience acquired, without distorting the race. There will be no shortage of challenges. Among the new features: the two “marathon-refuge” stages, a return to the race’s origins when the drivers, true adventurers, faced the dangers of the desert without the assistance teams as we understand them today. Not only that, the separate routes for cars and motorbikes which greatly complicate the work of drawing up the road books, will make the car race even more interesting and the rally in general safer”.
the race
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In cars, Yazeed Al Rajhi is called to defend the title, but at Toyota he will have to deal with the very strong South African Henk Lategan. The Ford squad (Carlos Sainz sr, Mattias Ekstrom, Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie) also promises to be very strong, ready to fight for victory. Dacia is also strengthening which, in addition to the confirmed Nasser Al Attiyah, Sebastian Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez, will field the new rally raid world champion Lucas Moraes. In motorbikes, KTM starts as a great favorite thanks to a perfect season: the Australian Daniel Sanders has won everything: after triumphing last January he also won the title of World Rally Raid Champion on two wheels. However, Honda is not there and has all it takes to become a protagonist again. The victory of the Morocco Rally by the Spaniard Toscha Schareina, the speed of Ricky Brabec and the experience of Adrien Van Beveren are confirmation of this. Not to be underestimated either is Hero Motorsports with Ross Branch, second in 2024, Ignacio Cornejo, a very strong navigator – and the young Tobias Ebster. The Dakar will also see the return of Mr Dakar, Stephane Peterhansel on the brand new Defender making its debut in the category. the Defender will challenge Toyota in the T2 class. “It won’t be easy, we have to remain modest, but we start with the desire to achieve the best possible result. From my side I will use my experience”, confessed Peterhansel.
Next Gen and Mission 1000: the Dakar of the future
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The 2026 Dakar doesn’t just look at the present, but firmly aims for the future. Mission 1000, a test bed for sustainable technologies, will experience its third edition with seven fully electric motorcycles and a hybrid truck powered by hydrogen and biodiesel. The Segways with higher performance batteries, the Spanish “Arctic Leopards” and the Stark Future, symbol of the new electric era, are back. The KH7 truck, already a protagonist in the last two editions, confirms itself as an icon of the “green” challenge in the desert.
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