In the final, 105-kilometer long stage, the main task for Al-Atiya was not to make fatal mistakes. After the dramatic loss of motorcycle class leader Ricky Brabeck due to a navigational error, the Al-Attiya camp was under caution, with the Qatari pilot already losing eight minutes of his lead midway through the distance. However, he managed to successfully finish with a lead of 9 minutes and 42 seconds in the overall standings over the nearest follower, Nani Roma from the “Ford” unit.
This year’s Dakar Rally turned out to be one of the fiercest battles in recent history – a total of ten different drivers and five manufacturers managed to win individual stages. While the Ford and Toyota factory teams showed great speed, they were unable to maintain stability, often making navigational errors or suffering technical breakdowns.
The decisive turning points took place in the second week of the competition. In the tenth stage, main rivals Matias Ekstrom and Mitch Guthrie lost time due to navigation, while the legendary Carlos Sainz received a 15-minute penalty for missing a checkpoint. When Henk Lateganas retired from the race for the podium in stage 11 with a wheel nut defect, it was left for Al-Attiyah to control the pace in the final two stages.
Al-Attiyah has now won six with four different manufacturers (Volkswagen, Mini, Toyota and Dacia), proving his unique ability to adapt to any technique. He has come within two wins of the legendary Stefan Peterancell’s record (eight victories in the car class).
Although Al-Attiyah did not win the final stage and did not set a new stage wins record (he shares 50 wins with Peteransel and Ari Vatanen), the desert master’s dominance in the overall standings was undisputed. “Ford” pilots Roma and Ekstrom climbed to the lowest steps of the podium this year, while nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb rounded off the top four, failing to reach his first victory in Dakar this year either.
2026 Dakar Rally results in car class:
All results: https://www.dakar.com/en/rankings/s…
