Dakar 2026: it’s six wins in the desert for Nasser Al-Attiyah

January 14, 2026
Bivouac Refuge-bisha, Saudi Arabia

Only three days to go… Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin tackle a sand dune in their Dacia Sandrider during a 230-mile stage midway through the second week of the Dakar Rally, watched by some interested locals. The duo won this stage on the way to what would become the 55-year-old Qatari Al-Attiyah’s sixth victory on the desert marathon, spanning four different manufacturers over 16 years.

It was around this time that the challenge of the M-Sport-run Ford Raptors began to fade. Al-Attiyah had leapfrogged Nani Roma’s machine for the lead by the time they arrived in Bisha, while Mattias Ekström and Carlos Sainz Sr would lose time to navigation dramas. Roma finished second, with Ekström pipping Sébastien Loeb (Dacia) for third.