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2026 Dakar Rally
Stage One – Yanbu to Yanbu
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s early Dakar Rally form continued into Stage One, with Edgar Canet and Daniel Sanders repeating their prologue performance. The duo delivering another one-two result, mirroring their standings. The stage win, cementing Canet’s dominant form in the history books.
Edgar Canet – Dakar 2026 Stage OneSunday’s stage one delivered a brutal opening, with a 524-kilometer loop around Yanbu, including 305 kilometres raced against the clock. The day began in unforgiving terrain, where narrow passes and jagged rock gardens demanded maximum focus from all riders. Conditions only eased later on as the route opened into sand and small dunes near the finish, ensuring the first full day of racing pushed riders and machines to the limit from the very first kilometres.
The victory looked to be going the way of Ross Branch who was fastest over the 305 km special, however a speeding penalty of six-minutes dropped him well down the standings.
Edgar Canet – Dakar 2026 Stage OneCanet finished 1m02s ahead of Sanders, with Honda’s Ricky Brabec the next closest competitor in third, followed by Tosha Schareina and Luciano Benavides.
Choosing to set off near the back of the lead group courtesy of his prologue victory, Canet immediately focused on chasing down the riders ahead of him. Quickest to the first checkpoint at kilometre 28, Edgar maintained his place inside the top three through to kilometre 260 where he intensified his pace to move further up the order, making very few errors.
Edgar Canet – Dakar 2026 Stage OneEdgar Canet
“I’m really happy with how the rally has started. Winning the prologue gave me a great feeling straight away and my rhythm was good, I felt confident on the bike and I was able to follow the roadbook with 100% confidence, braking before the dangers and avoiding unnecessary risks while still being fast. Today’s stage was very demanding with a lot of different terrain, from fast sections to slow, rocky areas, but my navigation was strong and the bike felt great again. Apart from a small mistake that cost a few seconds, everything came together nicely, so to take another win and start the rally like this is incredible.”
Sanders followed up his second-place prologue performance with another runner-up result. Riding in the dust of fellow KTM racer Canet for the stage, the reigning Dakar Champion did exactly what was necessary to stay in touch with the Spaniard. For stage two, the situation will be the same, with Sanders chasing down his teammate at the front of the field.
Daniel Sanders – Dakar 2026 Stage OneDaniel Sanders
“It was great to get underway and just be back on the start line. The prologue was much faster than expected and not very technical, so it was pretty much full gas the whole way and the times were very close, but it was good to get it done and focus on the stages ahead. Stage one was similar in that sense – very fast and quite straightforward – but the conditions made it tricky, with strong winds, a lot of dust and even a sandstorm at times, which made it hard to stay fully focused. Still, it felt good to get through the first proper day without any issues. I’m looking forward to the stages to come when the terrain gets more rocky, which suits me better.”
Following on from his fourth-place result in the prologue, Benavides was the 13th rider to enter stage one. Not wanting to fall foul of the technical terrain, the Argentine rode a solid but considered special, taking little in the way of risks to post the fifth-fastest time.
Luciano Benavides – Dakar 2026 Stage OneLuciano Benavides
“It felt really good to get the Dakar underway. There’s always some tension at the start, especially on the prologue, but it was also an important chance to check how my body was feeling. I focused on riding cleanly with a good rhythm and speed, and it was a positive way to begin the rally. Stage one was very fast for an opening day, with some sections that required careful navigation. I made a couple of small mistakes but didn’t lose much time, and in the rockier, more technical areas I chose to be cautious and avoid unnecessary risks. Overall, it was a solid first stage, and I know the pace is there, which gives me confidence moving forward.”
The Rally2 special saw the prolific Michael Docherty claim his eleventh win in the class on his KTM, beating the rookie Martim Ventura and his Honda, who had spent most of the stage in the lead but came up short in the final dash to the line, by 1′28″.
Toby Price finished the day in 16th in the Ultimate class (four-wheels).
Next: Stage Two
Monday’s stage two of the 2026 Dakar Rally will see the teams leave Yanbu and head inland to AlUla. Totalling 504 kilometres, the stage will include a timed special of 400 kilometres, which promises to challenge riders with a mix of both fast and technical terrain.
2026 Dakar Rally Stage One Results
(Provisional)
- Edgar Canet (ESP), KTM, 3:16:11
- Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:17:13 +1:02
- Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:17:43 +1:32
- Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 3:18:00 +1:49
- Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:19:58 +3:47
2026 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage One
(Provisional)
- Edgar Canet (ESP), KTM, 3:27:42
- Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:28:47 +1:05
- Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 3:29:19 +1:37
- Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 3:29:54 +2:12
- Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:31:40 +3:58
2026 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule
2026 Dakar Rally route2026 Dakar Rally route
- Prologue – Yanbu > Yanbu – 73km (22km)
- Stage 1 – Yanbu > Yanbu – 213km (305km)
- Stage 2 – Yanbu > AlUla – 104km (400km)
- Stage 3 – AlUla > AlUla – 244km (422km)
- Stage 4 – AlUla > AlUla – 75km (451km) Marathon
- Stage 5 – AlUla > Hail – 61km (356km) Marathon pt2
- Stage 6 – Hail > Riyadh – 589km (331km)
- Rest – Riyadh
- Stage 7 – Riyadh > Wadi Ad Dawasir – 414km (462km)
- Stage 8 – Wadi Ad Dawasir > Wadi Ad Dawasir – 236km (481km)
- Stage 9 – Wadi Ad Dawasir > Bisha – 122km (418km) Marathon
- Stage 10 – Bisha > Bisha – 46km (371km) Marathon pt2
- Stage 11 – Bisha > Al Henakiyah – 535km (347km)
- Stage 12 – AAl Henakiyah > Yanbu – 408km (310km)
- Stage 13 – Yanbu > Yanbu – 36km (105km) – Final
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