Dakar 2026: Dacia edges Ford and Toyota as Nasser Al-Attiyah scores sixth win

Nasser Al-Attiyah won the 2026 Dakar Rally for a sixth time, giving Dacia the overall victory ahead of Ford and Toyota; the event featured 10 different stage winners across five manufacturers.

Nasser Al-Attiyah captured the 2026 Dakar Rally, taking his sixth overall title with the Dacia team. The two-week event produced a notably competitive field and a spread of stage winners. Several manufacturers, including Ford and Toyota, mounted strong challenges at different points. The rally contrasted with last year’s Toyota-dominated outcome and featured frequent shifts in the leaderboard. Key details: - Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) won by 9 minutes 42 seconds, securing his sixth Dakar victory and bringing Renault Group its second overall Dakar win. - Ten different drivers from five manufacturers recorded individual stage wins during the rally. - Ford showed early pace with its upgraded Raptor, but drivers Mattias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie lost significant time to navigation errors on the second marathon stage. - Henk Lategan was forced out of contention when a broken wheel nut on Stage 11 cost him more than four hours. - Nani Roma finished as runner-up after needing team assistance and a late tow; Mattias Ekström was third, Sébastien Loeb fourth and Carlos Sainz Sr. fifth. Summary: Al-Attiyah’s victory moved him to six Dakar wins and placed him two wins shy of Stephane Peterhansel’s record, highlighting his long-term success across multiple manufacturers. The 2026 rally underlined a more open contest among manufacturers compared with the previous year. Undetermined at this time.