Seth Quintero has won the second stage of Dakar Rally 2026, delivering a historic Toyota top 5. The American was fastest over the 400-kilometre special between Yanbu and AlUla, beating teammate Henk Lategan by 1:42. Yazeed Al Rajhi completed an all-Toyota podium at 1:56.
It was a stage completely dominated by Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer placed no fewer than five Hiluxes in the top five, with Toby Price fourth (+4:36) and João Ferreira fifth (+4:56). At the intermediate timings after 240 kilometres, six Toyotas occupied the top six positions, an impressive demonstration of strength.
“A great day for Toyota so far,” the organisation reported when Quintero extended his lead over Saood Variawa to 2:18. The American driver maintained that advantage to the finish and claimed his first stage victory of this edition.
Variawa impresses, Al-Attiyah takes lead
Saood Variawa rode another strong stage. The 20-year-old South African, youngest-ever FIA winner in Dakar history, posted the fastest time at several intermediate checkpoints. After 39 kilometres he was already leading ahead of Toby Price (+0:53) and De Mévius (+1:08), and at 70 kilometres he extended his advantage. He eventually finished tenth at 7:30.
Nasser Al-Attiyah finished eighth in the stage at 6:31, but that was enough to take the lead in the overall classification. The Dacia driver benefited from his strategic position: he started three minutes behind leader De Mévius, ideal for making up time without having to open the route.
Al Rajhi fights back
Yazeed Al Rajhi delivered an impressive performance. The Saudi, who received a heavy time penalty of sixteen minutes yesterday for a missed waypoint and speeding offence, posted the third-fastest time of the day. He started 54 minutes after De Mévius but showed his class with a podium finish in the stage.
Loeb and De Mévius: strategy pays off
Sébastien Loeb admitted after the first stage to choosing a deliberate strategy. “We didn’t want to push for time yesterday,” said the Frenchman, who considered his tenth place “perfect” for today’s conditions. That tactic earned him seventh-fastest time (+6:07).
Guillaume de Mévius had to open the route as leader and did so strongly initially. At the first time check (39 km) the Belgian had the fastest time ahead of Martin Prokop (+0:35) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (+1:33). He eventually finished twelfth at 8:20, but maintains a place in the top three of the overall classification.
Vitse shines in two-wheel drive
Simon Vitse drove an excellent stage and finished sixth overall (+5:46), surrounded by four-wheel-drive factory prototypes. The northern Frenchman from MD Rallye Sport placed his two-wheel-drive Optimus in the top ten and is the undisputed leader in his category.
Trouble for Botterill, problems for Ekström
Guy Botterill, who started the stage in sixth place, lost almost 38 minutes and finished 26th. The South African suffered an early puncture and was the biggest loser of the day among the favourites.
Mattias Ekström stopped at the start of the special but was able to continue after several minutes. He finished thirteenth at over nine minutes. The other Fords also struggled: Carlos Sainz finished sixteenth (+11:42), Nani Roma seventeenth (+11:48) and Mitch Guthrie 23rd (+14:43).
Overall classification: Al-Attiyah with seven seconds
In the overall classification, Al-Attiyah has taken the lead with a seven-second advantage over Quintero and 1:09 over De Mévius. Henk Lategan is fourth at 1:28, followed by Loeb at 1:57. Toyota occupies six positions in the top ten, with the Japanese manufacturer taking its revenge after earlier successes by Ford and MINI.
The 504-kilometre stage to AlUla was characterised by sandy terrain and winding canyons at the start, followed by the rocky tracks of the Hedjaz Mountains. The course then opened into fast, sandy wide plains before the caravan encountered the first small dunes of this Dakar edition at AlUla.
Van Kasteren fastest Dutchman despite chaotic opening
Janus van Kasteren was the fastest Dutchman with 29th place at 29:43. He was satisfied with his day despite a hectic start. “The first 100 kilometres made no sense. It was just train riding, everyone on each other’s bumper. Dust, so many rocks,” he said. After the pit stop it improved and he overtook many competitors through the dust. “Actually a really great day. Now we’re around 30th place and can start a bit further forward tomorrow, which makes a huge difference.”
Roger Grouwels finished 46th in 54:57, Michiel Becx in 54th in 1:02:24, and Dave Klaassen in 57th in 1:09:05. Maik Willems finished 69th in 2:35:42. Tim and Tom Coronel had a crash and a lot of damage, they worked 6 hours on their Century, but they managed to fix the car and reach the finish.
Dave and Tessa Klaassen’s time loss was caused by an engine problem. Halfway through the stage, the DKR EVO stalled due to a crankshaft sensor malfunction. They were able to switch it and continue riding. Back in the bivouac, the team worked on a gearbox issue.
