The 2026 Dakar Rally was a rally raid event that took place from 3 to 17 January 2026 in Saudi Arabia. It is the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally, organized by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), and the 7th time Saudi Arabia has hosted the event.
The event featured as the first round of the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship. Nasser Al-Attiyah won the rally in the cars class, his sixth victory in the event. Argentinian rider Luciano Benavides took victory in the bikes category.
The presentation and race outline will take place on 13 November 2025 in Paris, France.
This year, the route will start and finish in Yanbu passing through Ha'il's desert stages, Al-Qassim, and to Riyadh for the rest day. Notably skipping the Empty Quarter, the rally will head west to new regions previously unexplored by the event to Al-Bahah, Aseer, and Jizan.
The race will consist of 14 days of racing, divided into the prologue and 13 stages. There will be four loop stages and four split route stages in two back-to-back pairs, with the cars and trucks taking a separate route to the bikes.
Competitors face a hybrid 48h Chrono/marathon on stage four, with a bare-bones bivouac where mutual assistance is permitted without time limits and class T5.2 trucks reach the bivouac to assist competitors. Stage nine to 10 will be a more traditional marathon still with a minimal bivouac.
Alternative zero-emission or hybrid drives are represented again by the Mission 1000 category now in its third year.
The 2026 event allows for the entry of SCORE class vehicles - only one competitor entered with this type of vehicle. It also makes the distinction between turbocharged and naturally aspirated vehicles the Challenger (T3) class .
Note <br/> â "Dakar Legends": competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â "Rookies": competitors who will participate for the first time. <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.<br/> â "Original by Motul" â Competitors participating in the "Original by Motul", previously known as "Malle Moto", a marathon class with limited assistance.<br/><sup>VJW</sup> â Subclasses for Veteran, Junior, Women.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
Note <br/> â The "Dakar Legends" â competitors that participated in 10 or more Dakar events. <br/> â The first time starters â "rookies". <br/> â Competitors that were not able to start the race.
The Rally2 class for bikes refers to Rally2 entries eligible for the FIM World Rally-Raid Cup.
The Original by Motul class, also known as the Malle Moto class, refers to bikes and quads competitors competing without any kind of assistance. The organizers provide 1 trunk per competitor for storage of the personal belongings, spare parts and tools. Competitors are only allowed to bring 1 headlight, 1 set of wheels, 1 set of tyres, 1 tent with sleeping bag and mattress, 1 travel bag and 1x 25 liter (6.6 gallon) backpack. Organizers allow free use of the generators, compressors and tool-boxes in the bivouac.