File photo
Riyadh: Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah finished fourth in the prologue stage of the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally 2026, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the seventh consecutive year, with the participation of 812 competitors.
The rally got underway today from the city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, with a 22-kilometre prologue stage.
In the car category, five-time Dakar champion Al Attiyah recorded a time of 10:56.6 minutes to place fourth. Sweden's Mattias Ekström topped the stage with a time of 10:48.7 minutes, followed by American Mitch Guthrie in second place at 10:56.1 minutes, and Belgium's Guillaume de Mévius in third at 10:56.3 minutes. Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi, the defending overall champion, finished sixth with a time of 11:02.4 minutes.
In the motorcycle category, Spain's Edgar Canet claimed first place in the RallyGP class, clocking 11:31.9 minutes, three seconds ahead of Australia's Daniel Sanders, the reigning champion, who finished in 11:34.1 minutes. American Ricky Brabec took third place with a time of 11:36.8 minutes.
The total distance of the rally stands at 7,994 kilometres for cars and 7,906 kilometres for motorcycles, including 4,480 kilometres of timed stages for cars and 4,748 kilometres for motorcycles.
The rally comprises 13 diverse stages, with the first competitive stage set to start tomorrow from the Bisha region, featuring a 305-kilometre special stage and a 213-kilometre liaison section.
Subsequent stages will pass through AlUla, Hail, Riyadh, Wadi Al-Dawasir, and Al-Hanakiyah, before the rally concludes in Yanbu on 17 January.
The route includes two marathon stages. The first, in AlUla, covers 451 kilometres of timed sections for cars out of a total distance of 526 kilometres, while motorcycles will contest 417 competitive kilometres out of 492 kilometres. The route then continues to Hail, featuring 372 kilometres of special stages for cars and 356 kilometres for motorcycles.
The second marathon stage will run from Wadi Al-Dawasir to Bisha, covering 418 kilometres of timed sections for motorcycles and 410 kilometres for cars, followed by stages measuring 421 kilometres for cars and 371 kilometres for motorcycles.
