YANBU / AL-ULA, Saudi Arabia — Veteran rally driver Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken the overall lead in the 2026 Dakar Rally after the second stage of competition concluded on Monday, January 5, 2026, during the rally’s Saudi Arabian leg. The event continues its full itinerary entirely within the Kingdom.
The second competitive stage, covering approximately 400 km from Yanbu to Al-Ula, saw strong performance from Toyota vehicles, with Toyota drivers occupying the top five stage positions. Despite this domination on the day, Al-Attiyah, competing for the Dacia Sandriders team, climbed to the overall lead in the car category with a slim time advantage over American Seth Quintero.
Stage winner Quintero finished 1 minute 42 seconds ahead of South African driver Henk Lategan in another Toyota Hilux. Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar Rally winner, finished the stage in eighth but retained a 7-second lead in the general classification after two days of rallying over demanding desert terrain.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Saudi Arabia’s 2025 Dakar champion, recorded a third-place finish on the stage driving for Toyota’s Overdrive squad, having recovered from time lost earlier in the rally. Other notable competitors included Belgium’s Guillaume de Mevius and France’s Sebastien Loeb in Dacia vehicles, both positioned close behind in the overall standings.
In the motorcycle category, defending champion Daniel Sanders of Australia won the stage and now holds the overall lead in the bike standings, overtaking teammate Edgar Canet. American rider Ricky Brabec, the 2024 Dakar motorbike champion, is currently third in the motorcycle classification.
The rally continues with the third stage scheduled for January 6, 2026, as competitors navigate further Saudi Arabian desert routes. The 2026 Dakar Rally spans two weeks of competition and is part of the World Rally-Raid Championship, testing endurance, navigation skill, and equipment durability across nearly 8,000 km of terrain.