Desert Drama Nears the Finish: Dakar Rally 2026 Delivers High-Octane Action in Saudi Arabia
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Fatima Saif
- . January 16, 2026
- . Update: January 16, 2026 5:08 pm
The Dakar Rally 2026 has entered a melodramatic end with the participants taking on the final stages of the iconic endurance race in Saudi Arabia. The rally will run between January 3 and 17, and takes place as a hardcore 8,000km loop starting and ending in Yanbu, where almost 5,000km of timed special stages cut across the deserts, rocky tracks, and high-speed dunes.
The struggle on the summit is still hotly contested as of January 16. Recent stage wins have been won by Skyler Howes and Mattias Ekstrom, with the rankings coming out close. Daniel Sanders, who is the defending champion in the bike category, is under intense pressure from the teammate of Red Bull KTM, Luciano Benavides, and Honda competitors Ricky Brabec and Tosha Schareina. Dakar hero Stéphane Peterhansel has made headway in the new Stock category with the Defender Dakar D7X-R, with other competitors such as Ekström, Lucas Moraes, and Toby Price, the Toyota driver.
The 2026 edition is innovative. The establishment of the production-based Stock category, compulsory HANS safety systems, and the harder terms of service have made endurance, strategy, and reliability important again, reasserting the position of Dakar as the ultimate test of man and machine.
