DAKAR 2026

Ricky Brabec secures his third Dakar victory

And Ricky Brabec did it. The American Honda rider capitalized on his masterstroke yesterday to decide the fate of the 2026 Dakar Rally in the motorcycle category... unless a catastrophe occurs tomorrow in the final stage.

Starting two positions behind Luciano Benavides, with the guarantee that Howes and Van Beveren ahead would steal a good portion of the Argentine's bonus seconds, proved decisive. Even though the KTM rider managed to catch the race leader and gain 2:05 in bonus seconds, it still wasn't enough...

A duel in which Benavides overtook Brabec by 25 seconds at the first checkpoint; but the Honda rider turned things around at the second and took the stage lead by 22 seconds, an advantage he extended to 1 minute and 24 seconds at the third checkpoint, becoming the virtual overall leader. The plan worked.

And from there, everything would work even better: while Brabec caught up with and overtook Schareina - who could act as his assistant when the time came - Benavides caught up with Van Beveren, who had let Howes escape, being forced to make his way from there.

"I pushed myself to the limit, gave 100%, and even managed to make my way through, but it wasn't an easy stage," said the Argentine at the finish line... where he announced that he hasn't given up yet: "Let's keep hope alive until the last kilometer."

Because the two-time Dakar champion, already on his way to becoming a three-time champion, won the stage with a 3:43 advantage over the younger of the Salta brothers, who had a sensational race considering the complicated physical conditions in which he competed, with a torn meniscus and cruciate ligament in his knee.

Thus, Brabec will have more than enough advantage tomorrow to comfortably cover the last 100 kilometers of the Dakar Rally: three minutes and 20 seconds. A difference impossible to overcome... unless a catastrophe occurs.

Tosha Schareina will once again climb onto the podium at the Dakar Rally. Schareina in action on stage 12 - image above   photo: ASO/F.Le Floc'h/DPPI

Schareina takes the podium with ease... Tosha Schareina didn't need to exert much effort to finish the race and secure at least his second consecutive podium in the Dakar. This time, the result will be slightly lower than last year's, and with a bitter taste due to the crucial mistake: the 10-minute penalty on the first marathon lap, which weighed heavily on him, both in the overall classification and in his morale.

The other Spaniard in the race, Edgar Canet, lost another 27 minutes and 43 seconds today after suffering a fall before the first timed checkpoint. But the biggest loser of the day was American Skyler Howes, who paid dearly for forging his way through and lost 24 minutes and 24 seconds. However, he managed to maintain fourth place in the overall standings, just 10 seconds ahead of Sanders.

The Australian, who is facing a grueling race determined to finish with a fractured collarbone (and score valuable points for the W2RC World Championship, which he is defending), almost managed to secure fourth place. He lost by... 10 seconds.

Tomorrow will be written the final chapter of the 2026 Dakar Rally, a triumphant 105-kilometer time trial, in which the riders will race along the shores of the Red Sea... and reach the long-awaited finish line in Yanbu, where the winners will be crowned.

Dakar Rally 2026: Overall Motorcycle Classification, Stage 12

Ricky Brabec (Honda) 48h 02:12

Luciano Benavides (KTM) 3:20

Tosha Schareina (Honda) at 27:51

Skyler Howes (Honda) at 58:21

Daniel Sanders (KTM) at 58:31

Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) at 1h 06:57

Nasser Al-Attiyah almost champion: Qatari secured his sixth Tour de France title (depending on tomorrow's stage) with a crushing victory

Nothing to be done. Nani Roma not only failed to close the gap to Nasser Al-Attiyah, but the Qatari put on a show and secured his sixth Dakar victory in style: dominating the penultimate stage.

We had to wait until the penultimate day to glimpse the true Nasser Al-Attiyah, the one who wins even when he doesn't need to... but who in this Dakar proved to be more cerebral than usual. Today, he unleashed his full potential and opened up another 6 minutes and 22 seconds of advantage over Nani Roma, who proved powerless against the Arab attack.

Al-Attiyah's victory also raises his number of wins to a historic milestone. It's the 50th Dakar victory for the five-time champion, equaling the record shared by Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen. Perhaps becoming the most decorated rider will have to wait until the 2027 Dakar.

Ford ensured the safety of its victory contender by placing Romain Dumas (who yesterday had the mission of finishing as far ahead as possible, precisely so as not to have to call any of the factory riders, who can still score good points for the World Championship) in the pits and positioning him as an escort for the Catalan.

But Roma's pace today wasn't 'super', at least not compared to what Al-Attiyah showed, who won his second stage in this Dakar today and doubled the distance to the Catalan, reaching an unreachable 15:02.

As expected, Carlos Sainz was unable to compete in the stage, starting from third position... because he didn't take as many risks as Ekström (which is understandable, since he didn't have the Swede's bonus). The Madrid native finished the day in tenth place, 7 minutes and 45 seconds behind Al-Attiyah.

His fifth place overall is not in danger... but there will be a battle for sixth place, as Mathieu Serradori (Century) and Lucas Moraes (Dacia) are separated by only 18 seconds... and there are World Championship points at stake for the current champion.

While Al-Attiyah had a spectacular stage...Mattias Ekström's was even more so. The Swede, who led the race, managed to open up a 3 minute and 24 second advantage over Sébastien Loeb... who had to fight hard to secure a place on the podium.

With that difference, in fact, the Ford driver took the third place off the podium from the Frenchman... although the difference between them, of 29 seconds, could be overcome tomorrow by the Dacia driver.

Tomorrow the final chapter of the 2026 Dakar Rally will be written, a triumphant 105-kilometer time trial, in which the drivers will race along the shores of the Red Sea... and reach the long-awaited finish line in Yanbu, where the winners will be crowned.

Dakar Rally 2026: Overall Vehicle Classification, Stage 12

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) 44h 39:59

Nani Roma (Ford) at 15:02

Mattias Ekström (Ford) at 23:21

Sébastien Loeb (Dacia) at 23:50

Carlos Sainz (Ford) at 36:33

Mathieu Serradori (Século) at 53:17

Lucas Moraes (Dacia) at 53:35

Toby Price (Toyota) at 58:24

Seth Quintero (Toyota) at 1h 19:10

Mitch Guthrie (Ford) at 1h 27:27

Autonews and Mundoquatrorodas