Rally Raid
The 2026 Dakar Rally route is a journey into the greatest adventure yet
The Dakar Rally returns to Saudi Arabia for the seventh time and the route of the world’s toughest rally will test the Dakarists to breaking point.
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The Dakar Rally's sporting director David Castera and his team have devised an 8,000km route from Yanbu on the Red Sea to Riyadh and back that will test the 2026 competitors’ skills at driving, navigation, and, above all, resilience. Running from January 3 to 17, the 48th Dakar Rally will feature two marathon stages that will see the competitors running deep into the desert and camping out overnight under canvas with limited food, supplies and kit for repairs.
But in a new twist for 2026, several stages will include mid-stage service points to supply the Dakarists with fresh tyres and enable them to make running repairs, helping them to get their machines to the end. As for the competitors, they’ll have to rest and recharge their bodies in the few moments they have spare.
None of this will deter defending Bike champion Daniel Sanders, champions Nasser Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel, Toby Price and Cristina Gutiérrez and multiple winners Seth Quintero, Sébastien Loeb and Mattias Ekström who will be writing more of their legends in Arabian sands. Plus there's a host of young guns like Edgar Canet, Gonzalo Guerreiro and Lisandro Sistema who will become the next generation of Dakar racers.
Daniel Sanders will be looking to add to his 2025 Dakar championship
© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool
01
Prologue – January 3
- Start: Yanbu
- Finish: Yanbu
- Total distance: 98km
- Special: 23km
A total of 325 vehicles will take the start at Yanbu on the Red Sea and race to Riyadh and back. They will be eased in to action with the Prologue, a loop of nearly 30km around Yanbu that will determine the starting order for Stage One.
02
Stage 1 – January 4
- Start: Yanbu
- Finish: Yanbu
- Total distance: 518km
- Special: 305km
First stage is another loop from the port city of Yanbu and into the wilderness, this time covering more than 300km of racing. “It will be easier than last year, don't worry,” says David Castera, making it almost sound like a holiday. “It’s quite varied with beautiful valleys to cross some rocks.” The Dakarists will also encounter the first service point in the middle of the stage, where they can replace tyres shredded on the rocks.
03
Stage 2 – January 5
- Start: Yanbu
- Finish: Al Ula
- Total Distance: 504km
- Special: 400km
The first big special of the 48th Edition, covering over 500km with 400km of racing, as the competitors head to Al Ula. Over this tougher stage, the Dakarists will tackle a mix of jagged rocks, hot sands and the first dunes of the rally. There will another service park in the middle of the special to allow for repairs.
It's easy to get lost out there
© Eric Vargiolu/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull's Toyota racers kick up Saudi desert dust
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
04
Stage 3 – January 6
- Start: Al Ula
- Finish: Al Ula
- Total Distance: 666km
- Special: 422km
With 420km of special and a total distance of 666km, Stage Three promises to be the toughest but also the most photogenic. “With its mighty canyons and huge rocks, Al Ula is truly the most beautiful part of Saudi Arabia,” says David Castera. Racing over kilometres of flat sand will also pose a rigorous test of the teams’ navigation skills as they look to pick the quickest route back to the city.
05
Stage 4 (Marathon Part 1) – January 7
- Start: Al Ula
- Finish: Marathon Bivouac
- Total Distance: 526km
- Special: 451km
The first of two marathon stages with the cars, buggies and trucks taking one route and bikes and quads taking another. It’s another big special covering more than 450km as the Dakarists navigate through the spectacular landscape of Al Ula to a remote and unsupported bivouac deep in the desert. The Dakar is also a great leveller and here, even the great world champions will have to be completely self-sufficient, putting up a tent, making a bed and cooking under the stars. “They will have a sleeping bag with a small mattress underneath a tent,” explains David Castera. “This time the rations are better with soup, vegetables, pasta, morning coffee, desserts – everything you need – but the competitors will have to heat them, add water. But that's the Dakar. That's the adventure.”
06
Stage 5 (Marathon Part 2) – January 8
- Start: Marathon Bivouac
- Finish: Hail
- Total Distance: 428km
- Special: 372km
After a tough day, Stage Five is slightly easier. After waking up in the marathon bivouac, the Dakarists will have time to make some repairs before taking on a slightly shorter and more straightforward leg to Hail to recover some energy. This is not a case of the organisers going soft, they just want them ready to take on the gruelling Stage Six.
Navigating the endless valleys of the Dakar
© DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
Saudi Arabia keeps the amazing scenery coming on every stage
© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
07
Stage 6 – January 9
- Start: Hail
- Finish: Riyadh
- Total Distance: 920km
- Special: 331km
“A very tough stage,” says David Castera. Rest day lies ahead, but first the Dakarists have to take on towering dunes as they race to Riyadh. Castera says he’s not expecting all the Dakarists to complete the challenge in one day and, as a special measure, he’s keeping the bivouac in the capital city open until 2pm on Saturday to allow the competitors as much time as possible to race through the dunes and reach the rest day.
08
Rest Day – January 10
- Location: Riyadh
For Dakarists, rest day is just the chance to make proper repairs, pack in some calories and recharge ready for the return trip to Yanbu. That’s for the lucky ones that made it to the bivouac in time to get some rest and relaxation. Others will be out in the desert overnight battling the elements. An adventure that begins with a journey south and two big special stages…
09
Stage 7 – January 11
- Start: Riyadh
- Finish: Wadi Ad-Dawasir
- Total Distance: 876km
- Special: 462km
Stage Seven sees the Dakarists set out on the road back to Yanbu – except it’s not a road and they’re heading south, not west. Stage Seven features almost 500km of racing and nearly 900km at the wheel in total. Ahead of them lies another field of sand dunes and a range of navigational challenges and potential pitfalls as they journey to Wadi Ad-Dawasir.
Kevin Benavides racing through the canyons of Yanbu
© DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
With its mighty canyons and huge rocks, Al Ula is truly the most beautiful part of Saudi Arabia
10
Stage 8 – January 12
- Start: Wadi Ad-Dawasir
- Finish: Wadi Ad-Dawasir
- Total Distance: 717km
- Special: 481km
This stage will open with a spectacular mass start. It was a feature of the original Paris-Dakar, but had been dropped from the format until the organisers brought it back last year for the Classic racers. This year it’s back and bigger than ever as the competitors set out on a huge 481km loop into the desert around Wadi Ad-Dawasir. It’s coolest at this time of year with the average temperature just nudging 36C/96.8F
11
Stage 9 (Marathon Part 1) – January 13
- Start: Wadi Ad-Dawasir
- Finish: Marathon Bivouac
- Total Distance: 531m
- Special: 410km
After two of the toughest stages, the Dakarists face the second marathon stage as they have to cover more than 400km out to the desert bivouac. A shorter distance and less demanding terrain makes this one of the easier stages of the Dakar – although any mistake could be costly. And this is the Dakar, which means an easier stage will be followed by a tough day at the office. So, as the competitors assemble their tents and cook their dinner, they might see some dunes looming in the distance.
Luciano Benavides, Edgar Canet and Daniel Sanders leading the way for KTM
© DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
12
Stage 10 (Marathon Part 2) – January 14
- Start: Marathon Bivouac
- Finish: Bisha
- Total Distance: 469km
- Special: 421km
Another split route as the bikes and quads divide off from the cars, buggies and trucks. Of the 400+km that make up the special, 300km is over dunes – by far the longest time in the dunes of the 2026 Dakar. After this stage, we should see the final podiums starting to take shape.
13
Stage 11 – January 15
- Start: Bisha
- Finish: Al Henakiyah
- Total Distance: 882km
- Special: 347km
After a gruelling day bashing the dunes, the Dakarists work their way back to the picturesque Madinah region. It’s one of the shorter special stages, but still tricky, and one of the longest distances covered as the competitors drive nearly 900km to Al Henakiyah. It’ll be long past sunset when they finally reach the bivouac.
Pure satisfaction on the Dakar’s finish line
© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool
14
Stage 12 – January 16
- Start: Al Henakiyah
- Finish: Yanbu
- Total Distance: 718km
- Special: 310km
Destination Yanbu! The competitors leave Al Henakiyah for the final long special of the 2026 Dakar Rally. It’ll be a tough test that pits the competitors against rock-strewn passes, vast dunes and run through a series of spectacular canyons. Already tired from two weeks of racing, the field has to cover more than 700km before they reach the final bivouac back in Yanbu.
15
Stage 13 – January 17
- Start: Yanbu
- Finish: Yanbu
- Total Distance: 141km
- Special: 105km
The final stage of the Dakar will see the competitors racing through nearly 50km of valleys around Yanbu. Then they will reach the final liaison for the last special of the 48th Dakar Rally: A magnificent race along the Red Sea shores to return to the bivouac and crown the champions.
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