Rally Raid
"Hopefully nothing happens": inside the brutal Dakar Rally marathon stage
Alone in the desert, this is how the Dakar Rally's marathon stage tested Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Daniel Sanders, Lucinao Benavides and Edgar Cane to the limits of man and machine.
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The desert outside Al Ula, Saudia Arabia. In the early pre-dawn hours of the morning on January 8. The clear night sky is still filled with stars, it's surprisingly cold and for the three team-mates leading Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the 2026 Dakar Rally, it's time to crawl out of their tiny-one-man tents, force down some survival rations and begin preparations to try bring man and machine home in more-or-less one piece to complete what's unquestionably the toughest two days in all motorsport – the 2026 Dakar Rally's marathon refuge stage.
That's where Australian champion Daniel Sanders, Argentinian veteran Luciano Benavides and Spanish young gun Edgar Canet found themselves midway through the toughest opening week of the world's most famous rally raid race in many years - racing unassisted across more than 800km of punishing terrain, making running repairs to both bike and body with only the tools they could carry on them and sleeping out under the stars with only the the most basics for survival.
This is how the Red Bull KTM crew survived the ultimate test of desert racing to reach the very well-earned Dakar rest day bivouac intact... just about.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's intrepid Dakar Rally trio
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
01
Red Bull KTM vs the Marathon Stage
In their quest for a 21st Dakar Rally win, Red Bull KTM Factory brought a powerful trio of riders to the 2026 edition, mixing vast experience, youthful energy and, of course, outright speed on a full-on 450cc rally bike.
Leading the squad again is defending champion Sanders. The 31 year old Australian absolutely dominated the 2025 race, leading from the prologue stage all the way to the finish and he's fully focused on adding a second winner's trophy to his cabinet.
Daniel Sanders is rocking the champion's No.1 plate
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
The former enduro racer is by now one of the most experienced of the Bike class contenders, having experienced pretty much everything the Dakar can throw at a rider, and is renowned for his cool, unflappable demeanor – even when his bike is swapping around underneath him at well over 100kph. Sanders knows what it takes to keep a bike in one piece and win, so he's not only one of the outright race favourites, but also a wise head to help his young team-mate Canet when the going gets tough. Like it would on the marathon refuge stage
The second Dakar stage winner starting the rally is Argentina's big hope, Luciano Benavides. The 30 year old brother of two-time Dakar champion Kevin Benavides, is already a Rally Raid World Championship title winner and, like Sanders, has all the experience needed to win. Unfortunately for Benavides however, a big crash at October's Rally du Maroc left him with knee and shoulder injuries, meaning he started this year's Dakar in less than optimal shape.
Benavides started the race battered, but not beaten
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Edgar Canet makes the jump up to the full factory team at just 20
© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
Completing the KTM trio is the youngster of the group, 20 year old sensation Edgar Canet. Outrageously fast and hungry like only a young man can be, the Spaniard only made his Dakar debut last year, but instantly competed alongside the best of Bike class as he dominated the production-based Rally2 standings.
For 2026, Canet has earned his place in the full factory team and RallyGP class and what he boasts in abundant speed and talent, he equally lacks in the vital experience and know-how that can often prove so vital if you truly want to compete for overall victory. Eager to learn however, Canet has two of the best to watch and learn from in the Saudi Arabian desert and the freshest, most injury-free body to cope with the camping ache-free.
The marathon refuge stage: over 800km of sharp rock, sand and sleeping out
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
When sitting down to plan their 2026 Dakar Rally approaches, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing will have had a few key stages really in sharp focus and right at the top of that list will have been Stage 4 and Stage 5, which made up the first of two marathon refuge stages in this year's Dakar Rally.
Looking to up the challenge of the race further, the concept of these stages is simple: competitors set out at the start of the first stage, race hundreds of kilometres in the special stage to the finish, camp out for the night with basic rations and then race hundreds more kilometres to complete the next stage, all without any team support. That means no mechanics, no support trucks, no spares outside of what you can carry yourself and, crucially, no tyre changes – total self sufficiency.
With no mechanics and only a basic toolkit, first job was running repairs
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Kit was simple: a tent and sleeping mat, sleeping bag and survival rations
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
They will have a sleeping bag with a small mattress underneath a tent, but that's the Dakar. That's the adventure
"They will have a sleeping bag with a small mattress underneath a tent,” explained David Castera at the route's launch. "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."
With so many factors at play, it's safe to say that while the Dakar couldn't be won in the marathon, it certainly could be lost. Strong navigation, mechanical sympathy, a positive mindset and comfort in being uncomfortable were all going be vital - although perhaps not as much as a working set of tyres it tuned out.
02
Rocks, rations and shredded tyres: surviving the stage
A throwback night under the desert stars
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
"It's alright, better than a stone on the head." It's safe to say the military-style rations dished out to each competitor by organisers at the end of Stage 4 to sustain them through until the start of Stage 5 won't be hunted out by Daniel Sanders when he gets home to Australia.
Food aside however, all three of the Red Bull KTM riders could sleep safe – if perhaps not especially comfortably – in the knowledge that they'd survived the opening half of the marathon stage in better shape than many of their rivals – and it was the abundance of stone on Stage 4 that played the decisive role in that.
None of KTM trio was in the top three for the stage, but the sharp, rocky terrain that marked out the first half of the stage especially did a real number on the only set of tyres that would need to last through both stages, ripping knobs clean off and tearing the rubber - in some cases badly enough to expose the foam bib mousse inside, which causes all sorts of problems from poor traction all the the way through to losing the tyre completely and being forced to try limp home just on the wheel rim – never an easy task.
Edgar Canet tidy's up his tyre damage after Stage 4
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
There was a lot of rocks, so we got the refuel and everyone had cuts in their tyres and pretty destroyed wheels
"There was a lot of rocks, so we got the refuel and everyone had cuts in their tyres and pretty destroyed wheels," said Sanders to Dakar Rally TV at the end of the stage. "After that I tried to protect my tyre as much as possible and not push to much in the rocks. We'll see what happens, but if it's a full stage tomorrow I think we'll see a lot of drama."
They were prophetic words from the defending champion, but before that competitors faced the reality of overnighting in the desert with no support crews, a tiny toolkit and mechanics wield them, no canteen service, lots of press capturing your attempts to pitch a tent and nowhere to shower out all that Saudi Arabain desert sand from all their nooks and crannies.
Parking space wasn't an issue if you made it to refugue
© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
With no mechanics and only a basic toolkit, first job was running repairs
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Bigger tool kits and more hands meant Car teams could do more work
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
It was trip back in time for Dakar veterans like Carlos Sainz
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
For the KTM trio, it was a thankfully easy afternoon and evening getting their bikes and camp sorted, thanks in no small part to the team's resident Aussie outback camping expert. Still, there's no getting away from the fact that it's camping out in claustrophobic tent way out in the middle a cold desert night whilst dirty, stinky and still in your racing kit, huddled together around campfires to stave off the chill and loneliness. Unlike the Car and Challenger crews, the Bike competitors essentially don't have space to stash away extra food and clean underpants either. It's not comfortable, but as Sanders says: "This is a real Dakar stage and it's good fun."
For others, there was a long, stressful session of bush mechanics to take on in an attempt to help their shredded tyres reach the end of the next day's Stage 5 and keep their Dakar Rally hopes alive with zip-ties, tape, wire, glue - anything they had on them that could hold rubber to rim just that bit better. Undoubtedly, there were more than few front-runners laying awake deep in the night with nothing but the sounds of the desert and their worries for company.
03
Who were the marathon men and who's leading the chase?
The Bikes always start first at the Dakar Rally and the pre-dawn brought the KTM trio out of their tents for rations and prep before the start of Stage 5 at first light, where Sanders's tyre comments from the previous day came true. As the 356km of the special began to click off, a number of overall title contenders suffered big time losses as their tyres and mousses gave up the fight, unfortunately including Edgar Canet.
After winning his first Dakar stage on Stage 1, the youngster had been flying high and, perhaps showing his lack of experience in race management, he rode at a serious pace for the early part of the stage before his rear tyre also started to come off the rim. Cue a long, frustrating stop on the side to the trail to wire his wheel together. That didn't last long. The tyre soon came off completely and Canet had a very slow, uncomfortable ride home in the dark to finish around 3am, more than six hours off the pace and with a hard lesson learned. Still, that's what he's in Saudi Arabia for and he can fight on for more stage wins, gathering invaluable experience every kilometre of the way.
So, one sad ending to the marathon, but two very happy ones as Luciano Benavides stormed to his first stage win of the race and Daniel Sanders took over the lead of the general classification.
Given his pre-race injuries, Benavides was a prime candidate to wake up feeling very second hand after a night sleeping on the cold desert floor, but the Argentine showed grit, speed and a whole lot of racing IQ to win the stage by almost four minutes over fellow South American Nacho Cornejo depsite what he described as huge crash during the early stages. It was clearly an emotional moment.
"I had a high-speed crash on this stage, but luckily nothing was broken! When I lost the front wheel I thought my Dakar was over. It was a crazy moment," he said. "After that I pushed all day and I won the stage. I'm super proud because I wasn't even sure if I’d be able to race this Dakar. I’m emotional because I suffered a lot to be here.”
Marathon man Benavides took it all in his stride and claimed Stage 5
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
For Sanders, all of his experience came into play to not only spot the potential for high drama on Stage 5, but then take advantage of it. In short, it was a true champion's performance. "It was a different marathon stage that's for sure. We had to actually manage the bike and tyres a bit," he said to Dakar Rally TV before going for a well earned wash. "I knew that was going to be a problem, so it was really important to not destroy the tyres, because a lot of riders were at the limit with that. I'm just happy to manage the situation because it could have ended your race today."
Just as the organisers planned, the first marathon refuge stage proved to be a true Dakar Rally classic that tested bikes and bodies to their limits. It isn't the world's toughest race for no reason, though, so rather than give competitors the traditional rest day after those gruelling two stages, instead they threw in the first big day in the sand dunes for Stage 6 before setting up camp in Riyadh for the break in racing.
It was really important to not destroy the tyres, because a lot of riders were at the limit with that
Sensing the opportunity to make big gains on tired rivals, Sanders delivered a masterclass of dune riding that saw him clock a time minutes faster than anyone, only to then have a six-minute speeding penalty for exceeding the limit in a restricted zone handed to him. It cost the frustrated champ the stage win, but he still led the standings going into the rest day for the second consecutive year, albeit by just 45s over two-time winner Ricky Brabec of the United States instead of minutes he'd planned. Then, sitting right there in third, only 10 minutes behind and seemingly getting better with each day of riding under his belt, is team-mate Benavides.
The Marathon Refuge Stage really shook up the first week of racing
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Then, straight into the first huge dunes at dawn the next morning
© Florent Gooden/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool
One week and marathon down and with one week and one more marathon stage to go, Red Bull KTM's men are right on track despite all that's been thrown at them – and that what makes Dakar Rally champions.
04
What is the Dakar Rally?
The Dakar Rally is an endurance rally going cross-country in all-terrain vehicles. Part adventure, part long-distance race, the Dakar works by competitors driving on public roads to the start of each day’s timed special stage. Once on the stage they must then follow an off-road course through waypoints to the finish line. The competitors have to be quick, versatile and super-fit. They drive their vehicles distances of up to 1,000km per day over punishingly rough ground where punctures and breakdowns are extremely common. Solid mechanical knowledge is a big advantage at the Dakar and a tool kit is essential.
Competitors race in a wide variety of vehicles and classes, but the main categories are for cars, motorcycles, trucks and side-by-side buggies. The racers must be able to scan the track in front of them for obstacles while travelling at speeds of up to 170kph. The rally takes the convoy across a variety of terrains, from sand dunes to rocky valleys, mountains and even marshes. Plus, competitors must navigate from checkpoint to checkpoint using a GPS and their roadbook or else risk losing time and facing penalties. However, maybe getting lost is all part of the fun!
3 min
The story of the Dakar Rally
Take a lighthearted look at the Dakar's history, including its more calamitous moments.
The Dakar Rally began as the Paris-Dakar Rally, which was first formally run in 1978, finishing in '79, and featured competitors racing from Paris, France, through Spain to Morocco and deep into the Sahara desert before finishing in Dakar, Senegal. It was the vision of legendary adventurer Thierry Sabine, who took part in a race from Abidjan on the Cote d’Ivoire to Nice in France. While lost in the Sahara, he hit on the idea of how a long-distance off-road race could be the ultimate test of speed, endurance, determination and navigational skill.
Based in Northern Africa's deserts from its inception in through to 2007, the Dakar Rally then raced across various countries in South America between 2009 and 2019, before moving on again to Saudi Arabia, where the race has been held since 2020.
Quick Dakar Rally facts
05
What's the 2026 Dakar Rally route like?
At 8,000km, the 2026 Dakar Rally route is quite a different prospect to previous editions. Starting and finishing in Yanbu on the Red Sea, this year's route features a prologue and then 13 individual stages that will take competitors through some of Saudi Arabia's most beautiful and challenging terrain before reaching the finish on Saturday, January 17, where the champions will be crowned.
Each year, a few stages stand out as the key ones to watch out for and the 2026 route is no exception thanks to the introduction of two marathon refuge stages where competitors will have to be self sufficient from the start one stage, camp out overnight with no team support and only minimal provisions provided by organisers, and then race the next day's stage with no support also.
One has been placed in each week of the race with Stage 4 and Stage 5 between Al Ula and Hail being designated the marathon in the opening week, while Stage 9 and Stage 10 deep in the dunes of Saudi Arabia's famed Empty Quarter will be week two's marathon. Both will be huge tests, but with over 300km of racing across the dunes in store for Stage 10, that second marathon looks set to be perhaps the decisive stage of this year's rally.
Elsewhere, Stage 7 looks to be a real bruising affair after the rest day in Riyadh, featuring almost 500km of racing and nearly 900km in total as competitors tackle another field of sand dunes and a range of navigational challenges en-route to Wadi Ad-Dawasir.
Stage 8's huge 481km special loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir is also going to be a cracker, bringing back the mass-starts that were an original Paris-Dakar feature to the modern era. The sight and sound of waves of bikes and cars blasting away from the start side-by-side is really going to be something to see.
Then, a sting in the tail right before the finish in the shape of Stage 12's rock-strewn passes, vast dunes and run through a series of spectacular canyons that could definitely catch out a contender and cause a last minute heartbreak.
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