Nasser Al-Attiyah has won the sixth stage of Dakar Rally 2026 and reclaimed the overall lead. The Qatari beat teammate Sébastien Loeb by 2:58 in the first Dacia 1-2 finish ever at the Dakar. Seth Quintero completed the podium. Henk Lategan lost over nine minutes and dropped to second place.
It’s the 49th Dakar stage victory for Al-Attiyah, writing history. This is the 19th Dakar on which he has achieved at least one victory, an unprecedented record. Dacia achieved its first 1-2 finish ever at the Dakar, a milestone for the young brand in rally sport.
Dacia’s dominance was complete on the 331-kilometre sand special to Riyadh, the longest special of this edition with 920 kilometres in total. Al-Attiyah led virtually the entire stage and steadily built his advantage over his competitors.
Loeb claims first podium since 2024
Sébastien Loeb climbed impressively to second place in the stage. The Frenchman was still eighth at kilometre 162, but delivered a strong finale and ultimately finished 2:58 behind his teammate. It’s his first podium finish since stage 12 in 2024.
In the overall classification, Loeb is now sixth at 17:36, still in the race for the podium.
Lategan loses lead
Henk Lategan experienced a difficult day. The South African lost the virtual lead at kilometre 186 by just two seconds to Al-Attiyah, after which the gap only grew. At kilometre 248, his deficit had already increased to 2:51.
Lategan finished twelfth at 9:27 and drops to second place in the classification, now 6:10 behind Al-Attiyah. It’s a significant blow for the South African, who had taken the lead after his dominant victory in stage 4.
Roma back on podium
Nani Roma climbed to third place in the overall classification, 9:13 behind Al-Attiyah. It’s the first time since the 2019 Dakar that the Spaniard has been on the podium. Carlos Sainz is fourth at 11:49 and Mattias Ekström fifth at 12:11. The top five consists of three Fords, one Toyota and the leading Dacia.
Al-Attiyah also held the lead after stage 2, but lost it the next day to Mitch Guthrie. Now the Qatari has reclaimed the top position and can enjoy his advantage tomorrow on the rest day in Riyadh.
Toyota strong, Ford solid
Toyota placed six Hiluxes in the top fifteen of the stage. Besides Quintero (3rd), Toby Price finished fourth (+4:19), João Ferreira fifth (+4:56), Guy Botterill ninth (+7:08), Lategan twelfth and Saood Variawa fourteenth (+10:30).
Price claimed his first podium in the Ultimate class. The two-time Dakar winner on a motorcycle benefited from his 25th starting position and the tracks in the sand.
Ford placed four Raptors in the top thirteen. Nani Roma finished sixth (+5:31) and climbed to third place in the classification (+9:13). Carlos Sainz finished seventh (+6:33) and is now fourth overall (+11:49). Ekström finished thirteenth with a 0:30 time penalty and is fifth (+12:11). Guthrie, who opened, lost 8:43 and finished eleventh.
Guthrie limits damage as opener
Mitch Guthrie had to open for the second time and did better than expected in the heavy dunes. At kilometre 204 he was only 5:25 behind Al-Attiyah. He ultimately finished eleventh at 8:43, much better than the 43 minutes he lost when he had to open earlier in the marathon.
Serradori remains consistent
Mathieu Serradori drove another solid stage and finished eighth (+7:06). The Frenchman is now eighth in the classification at 23:29 and continues to perform consistently with his Century CR7.
The 331-kilometre special consisted entirely of sand, a first for this edition. After a 322-kilometre liaison, competitors faced dunes and soft tracks in the Qassim region. Tomorrow is the rest day in Riyadh.
Coronel again the fastest Dutchman
After several days of problems, Tim and Tom Coronel are on their way to the front. For the second day in a row, they were the fastest Dutchmen in their Century. They finished 37th in 41:35. Roger Grouwels finished 46th in 53:35, while Michiel Becx only managed 47th place in 1:00:12. Becx started the stage well and seemed poised to become the fastest Dutchman for a long time, but lost half an hour in the final section. Janus van Kasteren finished 52nd in 90 minutes.
Willems and Klaassen are still in the race, but are losing significant time. Maik Willems is already more than two hours behind, and Dave Klaassen has lost over 3.5 hours.
