Al-Attiyah and Benavides take the Dakar's headline classes

Nasser Al-Attiyah won the car category and Luciano Benavides the motorcycle category after two weeks of rally raid in Saudi Arabia.

03–17 Jan Middle East Saudi Arabia

Context image · A rally raid car racing through the Saudi Arabian desert during the Dakar RallyPhoto: X-Raid Team · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

The 2026 Dakar Rally finished in Yanbu on 17 January after a prologue and 13 stages across Saudi Arabia. Nasser Al-Attiyah won the car classification, while Luciano Benavides finished first in the motorcycle category.

Dakar combines speed with navigation, mechanical resilience, sleep management and prolonged environmental exposure. Its two-week structure makes the overall classification a measure of consistency across terrain rather than a single-day result.

Source trail

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iintroo summarises and contextualises the result. Scores, dates and later rulings remain linked to the organiser or governing body.

Dakar