Mechanical problem knocks Lategan out of the lead in the 2026 Dakar Rally

Henk Lategan lost the lead of the 2026 Dakar Rally and the Stage 7 victory when a broken shock absorber forced him to stop for nearly 10 minutes near the end of the special stage between Riyadh and Wadi Ad-Dawasir. Lategan was leading the 459-kilometer timed test and had overtaken Nasser Al-Attiyah in the overall standings when the damper broke in a pothole, forcing him to replace the entire unit.

"We had a really good day until we came to a section with a small bump and then a drop, and when we hit the drop, the shock absorber broke. It snapped clean in the middle," Lategan explained after finishing the stage.

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The Toyota Hilux was left hanging on one side and the team had to install a replacement shock absorber, a complicated process because the breakage damaged additional parts that had to be cut and removed. Lategan finished 13th in the stage, 8:35 minutes behind the winner, and dropped to fourth overall, 7:21 minutes behind Al-Attiyah.

Ekström capitalizes

Mattias Ekström inherited the stage victory with a lead of 4:27 minutes over João Ferreira and 4:55 minutes over Mitch Guthrie, in Toyota and Ford respectively. This is Ekström's seventh stage victory in the Dakar and places him second in the overall standings, 4:47 minutes behind Al-Attiyah, reducing the gap he had at the start of the day.

Al-Attiyah finished 11th in the special stage but maintained the lead thanks to Lategan's collapse. Al-Attiyah had lost the top spot at the waypoint at kilometer 375 when Lategan's Toyota surpassed him in the times, a scenario that anticipated a direct duel between the Dacia Sandrider and the Hilux in the final third of the stage.

The mechanical failure resolved the battle in favor of Al-Attiyah, who now has a 4:47-minute lead over Ekström with six stages remaining, including the longest special stage of the event (462 km) to be held this Sunday.

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Ford maintains three drivers in the top five overall

Nani Roma did what was expected by finishing sixth in the stage and regaining third place overall due to Lategan's problem. Roma is now 7:15 minutes behind Al-Attiyah, improving his gap by approximately one minute compared to the start of the day. Carlos Sainz maintained fifth place overall despite finishing ninth in the stage.

On Friday, the organization canceled the 1:10-minute penalty imposed on Roma in Stage 5 for speeding, officially returning the victory of that special stage to him. The review determined that the main monitoring unit was defective when it recorded the infraction, and the secondary GPS used by Roma and Álex Haro did not indicate a speed limit violation. The two systems operate independently and do not simultaneously initiate the 150-meter measurement segments, generating an incorrect reading.

Ford now has Ekström in second, Roma in third, and Sainz in fifth overall, a lineup that gives the team three options to fight for the title in the remaining stages. Guthrie remains seventh, 16:13 minutes behind the leader after his podium in Stage 7.

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The smallest gap at the rest day since 2006

The overall standings show the top 10 drivers separated by less than 26 minutes, a record-breaking figure for competitiveness at this stage of the rally. No edition in Saudi Arabia (2020-2025) or South America (2009-2019) had recorded such a tight table upon reaching the second third of the event.

The last time the Dakar had such small differences at this stage was in 2006, when only 11:26 minutes separated leader Giniel de Villiers from the tenth-place finisher in the last African edition.

Toby Price finished fourth in the stage just six seconds off the podium, while the Dacias of Lucas Moraes and Sébastien Loeb were fifth and sixth respectively. Loeb is sixth overall, 17:36 minutes behind Al-Attiyah, climbing positions after his second place in Stage 6. Seth Quintero finished seventh in the special stage and maintains ninth place overall for Toyota.

Argentina wins in three categories during Stage 7

Argentine drivers won in three different categories during Stage 7, a historic event for that country's motorsport in the Dakar. Jeremías González Ferioli won in SSV with the Can-Am Maverick R, beating Kyle Chaney by just seven seconds. In Challenger, Kevin Benavides achieved his first victory in that category, while his younger brother Luciano had won the special stage in motorcycles hours earlier.

Kevin Benavides completed the special stage in 4:22:57 hours to win in Challenger, beating fellow Argentine Nicolás Cavigliasso by 5:40 minutes. This is the first time in Dakar history that two brothers have won stages in different categories on the same day.

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The Benavides brothers have featured in memorable duels when they both competed in motorcycles with KTM. In Stage 13 of 2023, only three seconds separated Luciano from Kevin in the final time. In Stage 8 of 2024, Kevin finished 31 seconds ahead of his brother. Kevin won the Dakar in motorcycles in 2021 and 2023 before switching to Challenger for 2026.

The record surpasses the performance of Khalifa and Nasser Al Attiyah in Stage 7 of 2021, when Khalifa won in SSV but his brother Nasser could only finish third in the Ultimate category.

Zala makes history in trucks

Vaidotas Zala won the truck stage and became the first driver in Dakar history to achieve stage victories in both the car and truck categories. Zala had won the first special stage held on Saudi soil in 2020 driving a car, defeating Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah.

This year he switched to trucks after nine editions in cars and five Dakar appearances, achieving fifth place overall in 2025. The victory catapults him to third place in the truck standings, 33 minutes behind leader Mitchel van den Brink, displacing Aleš Loprais from the provisional podium. Zala completed the 459 kilometers in 4:27:24 hours, beating Loprais by 1:23 minutes and Martin Macík by 6:38 minutes.

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In SSV, the top three positions went to Can-Am drivers with minimal differences: González Ferioli won by seven seconds over Kyle Chaney and nine seconds over Joaquim Monteiro. In the Stock category, Stéphane Peterhansel won the special stage with the Defender Dakar D7X-R with a 21-second lead over Rokas Baciuska.

Stage 8 between Riyadh and Wadi Ad-Dawasir will be the longest special stage of the 2026 Dakar with 462 timed kilometers, combining dunes and fast tracks on terrain that historically favors Al-Attiyah.