In the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally, the dunes of Saudi Arabia played a leading role. From the very first waypoint it was particularly exciting among the cars, as the top teams did not give each other an inch.
Joao Ferreira was initially the fastest man on behalf of Toyota, but he had to relinquish the initiative halfway through.
This had everything to do with the strong advance of Dacia driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. The five-time Dakar winner drove the fastest time for the first time at kilometre 162 and slowly but surely extended his lead over Seth Quintero, Sebastien Loeb and Ferreira.
His lead later reached nearly two minutes, although that meant Al-Attiyah had to keep pushing.
In the end, he did take the first day's victory for Dacia in 2026 by beating team-mate Loeb. Al-Attiyah also took over the lead in the overall standings from Henk Lategan, as the South African lost about nine minutes in stage six.
Mattias Ekström, Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma complete the top five. Saturday is a rest day in the Dakar Rally.
View the general classification below.
General standings Dakar Rally 2026 - cars
| # | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Dacia | 24:18:29 |
| 2. | Henk Lategan | Toyota | +6:10 |
| 3. | Nani Roma | Ford | +9:13 |
| 4. | Mattias Ekström | Ford | +11:49 |
| 5. | Carlos Sainz | Ford | +12:11 |
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