Rally
The key competitors and vehicles chasing glory at the 2026 Dakar Rally
Watch out for new teams and drivers making their Dakar Rally debut in 2026. These fresh partnerships join the fearless competitors taking on the two-week challenge across the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Part of this story
Rally Raid’s ultimate test of endurance returns with the 2026 Dakar Rally. The 48th running of the desert classic, the seventh to take place on the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia, features plenty of intrigue as a number of big names have switched teams, new machines will be taking on the desert and new names are ready to burst into the limelight. However, the toughness of the task remains the same as always.
The world's best desert racers will start their 2026 at the Dakar Rally's Start Camp in Yanbu and begins with a 30km Prologue Stage on Saturday, January 3. A total of 14 days of action will take competitors and their machines on a journey of 8,000kms, featuring a massive 5,000km of racing against the clock. At the midway point of the rally there will be a Rest Day in Saudi Arabia's capital city Riyadh, while the finish line will be back in Yanbu on January 17 at the conclusion of Stage 13.
In a big to make this year's race the toughest yet on Saudi sands, the 2026 Dakar will feature a pair of two-day Marathon-Refuge Stages, one in each week of the race, and will strip things back to the bare essentials with only competitor-to-competitor assistance allowed. The convoy will fend for themselves in the desert with only a sleeping bag and a tent while surviving on the food rations issued to them by race organisers.
Only the bravest and best will witness the chequered flag flying in Shubaytah on January 17, when Dakar’s winners will be crowned.
01
Ultimate Class
Ford Performance
The Ford M-Sport squad is ready and so is their Raptor T1+
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Ford's hotly-anticipated return to the Dakar Rally in 2025 with a V-8-powered Ford Raptor T1+ and a powerful team including defending champion Carlos Sainz delivered strong results. While Sainz failed to finish, Nani Roma and Mattias Ekström both won stages in the car and Ekström claimed a superb third place overall in the standings, with American youngster Mitch Guthrie Jr. also finishing inside the top five.
As debuts go, Ford's was pretty impressive and after making a significant program of improvements since over the last year, the American giant returns with the exact same four-man team and are aiming for the top.
The Ford Raptor T1+ returns with a raft of developments aimed at victory
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
We've made improvements to the suspension, braking, transmission and so much more. All of this adds up to give us faster car for this Dakar
Two-time World Rally Champion and four-time Dakar winner Sainz will once again lead the team and is aiming to reclaim the title he last won in 2024 and make it a fabulous five Dakar Rally titles. He will again be joined by his trusted partner Lucas Cruz as co-driver, although Sainz recently took his F1 driver son Carlos Sainz Jr. out as his navigator during testing in Spain.
It was good fun for the father-son duo, but 'El Matador' was adamant he won’t be his son’s co-driver in Sainz Jr. ever takes on the Dakar challenge: "Firstly, it wouldn't be very good for our relationship and secondly it wouldn't be good for my health! Finally, I don't think I could perform as a co-driver at the required level. I have great admiration for co-drivers and I'm certainly not capable of doing what they do."
After his maiden Dakar Rally podium finish last year, Ekström returns with co-driver Emil Berqvist alongside him in the Raptor T1+ and firmly focussed on that top spot on the podium. "Our target is to win this Dakar. Last year we finished third, now we have potential to fight for the top. We need two weeks of clean racing, but at the Dakar that's tough," said the man who's already won titles in DTM, rallycross and more.
Mattias Ekström is looking to turn last year's third place into a 2026 win
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
American Mitch Guthrie Jr. moved up to the Ultimate class in 2025 after impressing with a series of brilliant performances in a buggy for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA and fifth place was a superb debut he's aiming to improve on with co-drive Kellon Walch. Bike class legend Nani Roma meanwhile gave Ford its first stage win last year and the Spaniard is looking forward to the adventure of the 2026 route: "Going to Saudi Arabia reminds me of how the Dakar used to be in Africa. We spend entire days racing through wide open deserts and this is something so special."
Dacia Sandriders
A year after their debut, Dacia Sandriders are bringing a new car to Dakar
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
The second of 2025's star-packed debut teams, Dacia Sandriders are going all-in in their hunt for Dakar Rally success and are bringing a new brand-new car to the Dakar Rally 2026 to help a strong driver lineup that's been boosted by another potential podium finisher.
The Sandriders will again be led by five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, who always aims for victory, but after his recent victory at the tough Rallye du Maroc in October, Sébastien Loeb will also fancy his chances of a fist Dakar victory. The nine-time WRC champion has won Dakar stages, but a victory has always escaped him. Could this year be the time for Loeb and co-driver Édouard Boulanger?
"It was a very good rally for us. We had a good rhythm from the start. No mistakes no problems. Édouard and I worked very well together," said Loeb after Rally du Maroc. "The feeling was really good with the Dacia Sandrider and we could push from the start to the end. It was the perfect rally for us and good preparation for the Dakar."
Fresh off a Rallye du Maroc win, Sébastien Loeb is ready for the Dakar
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Could Cristina Gutiérrez be the first women on the podium in years?
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Also returning to the Dacia Sandriders for a second term is leading female driver Cristina Gutiérrez, the Challenger class champion of 2024. The Spanish driver and navigator Pablo Moreno are an seriously experienced team by now and certainly have the potential to podium in the premier class.
Joining the Sandriders for 2026 is Brazilian Lucas Moraes, who finished third in his debut Dakar Rally in 2023 and has won stages in each of the three events he's entered to date. Joining the Dacia squad from Toyota Gazoo Racing, Moraes has just won the 2025 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title for the first time and will be supported in the cockpit by German co-driver Dennis Zenz and the pairing have big goals.
"Our goal is not only to win the Dakar Rally, but also to win the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' championships in the W2RC," says Zenz. "Lucas and I have been team-mates for the past year-and-a-half and therefore know each other quite well."
A new duo: Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz have joined the Dacia Sandriders
© Dacia
Our goal is not only to win the Dakar Rally, but also to win the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' championships in the W2RC
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Toby Price, Henk Lategan and Seth Quintero are Toyota's new men
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
There's big changes at Toyota Gazoo Racing, who have reorganised thier team for the 2026 Dakar Rally and hold on to just American youngster Seth Quintero from their 2025 squad. The rally raid prodigy will compete for the third time with Toyota after making history at the 2022 Dakar by winning 12 of the 13 stages in the Challenger class. Now, the 23-year-old Californian's goal is an overall victory in the premier class at the wheel of the DKR GR Hilux with new co-driver, former AMA Supercross winner and Dakar competitor Andrew Short.
"Dakar '26 is going to be a strong one, not just for myself, but for the entire team. The amount of work that we’ve put in the second half of the season has been truly impressive and I’m excited to implement our hard work to go for the win," says Quintero. "I feel fit, confident and ready to take on whatever Dakar has to offer."
Seth Quintero certainly has the raw speed to win outright
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Also on the mission to bring Toyota Gazoo Racing back to the top is South African Henk Lategan, who's been brought in to the team for his fourth Dakar Rally, having already won two stages and finishing second overall during the 2025 edition. Clearly, he and co-driver Brett Cummings have what it takes to win - just like did in their new DKR GR Hilux at the 2025 South Africa Safari Rally.
The exciting third addition to the team is none other than Australia's two-time Bikes class-winning hero Toby Price. After racing his last Dakar on a motorcycle in 2024, Price switched to the car class last year in did enough in a private Hilux to get the call-up to the factory team. Fellow former Dakar biker Armand Monleón has joined Price as his co-driver and victory would would make him only the fourth competitor in the entire history of the Dakar to win both bike and car categories.
Toby Price is now a Toyota Gazoo Racing driver
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
This is one of those pinch-yourself moments in my motorsport career. Dakar at this level is something only a very small group of people get to experience
"This is one of those pinch-yourself moments in my motorsport career. Dakar at this level is something only a very small group of people get to experience and I'm extremely grateful to Toyota, Red Bull, Peter Kittle Motor Company and all our partners for making it happen," says Price. "I'm really looking forward to heading back to Dakar for redemption after how our debut ended last year. Letting our partners down and seeing Sam Sunderland suffer a concussion was tough, but it’s only added to my motivation. Teaming up with Armand is incredible. He brings so much experience and I truly believe we’re in a great position to take it to the Dakar greats."
X-raid
Guillaume de Mévius and X-raid is seriously strong pairing
© Simon Bauchau/Red Bull Content Pool
Guillaume De Mévius has already scored a second place overall in the Dakar Rally and the Belgian is back for a second run at the event with X-raid and the MINI JCW Rally. De Mévius is the fourth Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver to have progressed to the Ultimate class, and he'll again ride with four-time Dakar-winning co-driver Mathieu Baumel, which makes this duo a formidable force who are more than capable of going one better and winning Dakar.
02
EBRO Audax Motorsport
Laia Sanz is pioneering Ebro's foray into the world's toughest race
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
There's one new manufacturer on the Dakar Rally 2026 to keep a keen eye on - the revived Spanish brand Ebro. After relaunching in 2023 as a subsidiary of the Chinese giant Chery, Ebro has wasted no time in entering Dakar under the EBRO Audax Motorsport name with the EBRO s800-XRR T1+ car, a 4x4 prototype that's going to be driven by the greatest female Dakar competitor of all time, Laia Sanz.
The Spaniard was the Dakar’s fastest female on two wheels for an incredible 11 consecutive years before switching to cars and finished and 13 straight Dakar's before a DNF lst year spoiled her unmatched run. Now, she's got a new challenge to lead an untested team and car through the world's toughest rally and will be joined by South African co-driver Taye Perry in one of the only all-female teams in the race. It's certainly a team to watch for.
03
Challenger Class
Saudi Arabian driver Dania Akeel knows the deserts of the Dakar better than almost anyone on the start list. The local favourite scored an outstanding Top 10 finish on her Dakar debut in the Challenger class and scored a stage win in the 2025 edition on the punishing Stage 10.
Can Dania Akeel add more stage wins or even the Challenger class overall?
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Akeel has ambitions to race in the Dakar's Ultimate class in the future. For now however she has unfinished business in the Challenger race alongside co-driver Stéphane Duple and fresh off the back of finishing third overall in the FIA Rally-Raid World Championship, she's confident and definitely a strong contender.
The 2025 Challenger class winner, Argentina's Nico Cavigliasso, is also back in the mix and sure to be racing for the win again, while one Challenger class rookie you certainly need to watch out for is two-time Bike class champion Kevin Benavides. Switching two wheels for four after a repeated injuries, the Argentine certainly has the know-how to really shake up the class in a BBR buggy.
Kevin Benavides is debuting in the Challenger class after two Bike titles
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
04
SSV Class
Francisco 'Chaleco' López is now contesting his second decade at the Dakar after following the rally to the Saudi Arabian dunes. The Chilean – an icon in his home country – was a headliner in the days of the Dakar in South America. Now, with three titles across the Challenger and SSV categories to his name, he feels right at home in the desert. He returns to the dunes in 2026, aiming for even more success in the SSV class driving Can-Am’s Maverick R machine.
05
Bike Class
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are the FIM Rally-Raid champs in both classes
© Pawel Starzyk/Red Bull Content Pool
After Daniel Sanders grew up on an apple farm in rural Australia, it was at the International Six Days Enduro that his racing career really started to bear fruit. After helping Team Australia to the ISDE’s World Trophy, he got the chance to ride his first Dakar Rally. A blistering start to his Dakar career saw Sanders place as best rookie on his debut, and now he's the defending Bike class champion after completely dominating the 2025 race from start to finish.
After swapping GASGAS for the powerhouse Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, 'Chucky' won five stages in total, including the first three on the trot, as he led the overall standings through all 13 stages to win by a hefty 8m 50s. Returning with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the 2026 race, Sanders is fresh off winning four out of the five events in the FIM Rally-Raid World Championship and starts Dakar as the favourite to score a repeat win.
Daniel Sanders has been on a roll and is ready to defend his Dakar crown
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
The season has been incredible and I can't thank the team enough. The goal now is to reward them with another win in Saudi Arabia
"I'm riding good, I know that, and when I’m riding good I’m fast – I just need to clean up my mistakes," siad Sanders after wrapping up the title. "I know there are things I need to work on with myself, but we've got a couple of months and I know what I need to do to improve. It’s not just the physical side for me; it's the mental side as well and I want to be ready for Dakar. The season has been incredible and I can’t thank the team enough. The goal now is to reward them with another win in Saudi next January."
While older brother Kevin has moved on to four wheels, Luciano Benavides is sticking on two for now and joins Sanders once again in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing after joining for last year's race, where he won Stages 8 and 9 on his way to fourth place overall. The former FIM Rally-Raid World Championship winner is determined to become the second Dakar Rally winner in the Benavides family and has been getting closer every year.
Riding for Red Bull KTM in the production-based Rally2 class, but more than capable of mixing with the Rally GP riders for top honours, Spain's Edgar Canet is flying the flag for youth at the Dakar Rally 2026.
Luciano Benavides has the experience and raw speed needed to win
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Canet had a dream debut in 2025 and big things are expected at this Dakar
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
The 20-year-old showed the speed and composure of a future Dakar champion when he debuted in the 2025 with a phenomenal eighth place finish that included a second place finish on Stage 7. Now, with a year's experience under his belt and the FIM Rally-Raid World Championship title in Rally2 to his name, Canet is a rider every rival will have their eyes on.
"Heading into Dakar, I want to beat my result from this year and then into next season, I want to be fighting for the overall," he says.
06
Don't miss the 2026 Dakar Rally
The Dakar’s sevent edition in Saudi Arabia gets started on January 3 with thrills and spills to come as the convoy races towards the January 17 finish line. Thousands upon thousands of kilometres spread across 13 special stages start and finish in Yanbu. The toughest rally on the planet is about to show us once again how it built its infamous reputation.
Part of this story