Ignacio Casale has claimed his first stage victory of Dakar Rally 2026 in the Challenger category. The Chilean held off Dania Akeel by 38 seconds. In the SSV class, Xavier de Soultrait won after a dramatic finale in which Jeremías Ferioli stopped twelve kilometres from the finish. Brock Heger maintains a solid lead of over half an hour.
Casale withstood Akeel’s attacks on the 331-kilometre sand special to Riyadh. Kevin Benavides completed the podium at 1:40, his best result so far. A nice birthday present for the Argentinian, who turned 36 today. Nicolás Cavigliasso finished fourth at 4:15.
“South American domination as Casale won the Challenger special by resisting the attacks of Saudi driver Dania Akeel,” the organisation reported. It was a South American celebration with three drivers in the top four.
Navarro retains lead, Seaidan loses major time
Pau Navarro retains the lead in the classification despite a one-minute time penalty. Yasir Seaidan stopped at kilometre 242 while still in the lead and lost almost 49 minutes. He finished sixteenth but remains fourth in the classification at 45:30. Navarro now has a 4:57 advantage over Cavigliasso. Del Rio is third at 25:54 and Zille fifth at 1:23:39.
Puck Klaassen fifth, fastest Dutch driver
Puck Klaassen drove a solid stage and finished fifth at 6:06. She is sixth in the classification at 1:39:22. Kees Koolen received a five-minute penalty and finished 14th in 31:14. He is currently 11th overall at 2:19:40. Paul Spierings finished 17th in 42:31, having stopped early in the stage. So, it wasn’t a smooth ride for Spierings and his navigator, Jan Pieter van der Stelt. Lex Peters finished 19th in 45:39, and Pim Klaassen finished 21st in 52:28.
De Soultrait wins after Ferioli drama
In the SSV category, Ferioli seemed on course for his third consecutive victory in Riyadh. At kilometre 248 he led by 1:10 over López and 1:17 over De Soultrait. “Jeremías Ferioli was the fastest driver between 186 and 204 kilometres but had not yet taken the lead. Now he has,” the organisation reported at kilometre 248.
But twelve kilometres from the finish, Ferioli stopped and saw victory slip from his grasp. De Soultrait sprinted to his second victory of this Dakar, winning by 2:07 over Chaney and 2:34 over López.
Heger maintains comfortable margin
Brock Heger had a weaker day and finished sixth at 5:16 with a ten-second time penalty. Nevertheless, he maintains a comfortable lead. De Soultrait won back 6:40, bringing the margin to 32:20. Chaney is third at 53:18.
It was an exciting duel until the end. At kilometre 204, the top four were within a minute: Heger led by 29 seconds over López, 38 seconds over Ferioli and 51 seconds over De Soultrait. “The SSV category looks set to remain undecided until the very end,” the organisation noted.
Hunter Miller retired with turbo problems. The American was fifth in the classification before stopping.
Richard Aczel and Wouter Rosegaar came in as 15th at 50:46 and are 13th in the general standings. They continue to drive their own rally at their own consistent pace and want to stay out of trouble. A tactic that seems to work during the first week of Dakar.
