Racing News

Mobility newsThe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has today announced the appointment of Diogo Pinto as FIA Region I Director General. Effective 1 January 2026, Diogo will lead FIA Region I’s Secretariat in Brussels and report to the FIA Region I President and governing bodies to deliver the Region’s strategy and priorities across Greater Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  Diogo brings extensive leadership experience across European public affairs, institutional engagement and Secretariat management. Since February 2020, he has served as Policy Director at FIA Region I, leading engagement with EU institutions and UNECE on mobility, sustainability and consumer priorities, and has been Acting Director General since June 2025. He previously held senior leadership roles in Brussels as Secretary General of the European Movement International and Secretary General of the European Youth Forum, and earlier worked in the European Parliament as an Accredited Parliamentary Assistant and principal adviser. FIA Region I is the largest and most diverse of the FIA’s mobility regions, comprising 103 mobility clubs that represent the interests of more than 41 million members. In his role as Director General, Diogo will play a pivotal role in policy development and lobbying activities of clubs across the Region as well as member development and support.  Willem Groenewald, FIA Secretary General for Automobile Mobility and Sustainability said:  “As we strengthen our policy and advocacy work on behalf of mobility clubs across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Diogo brings a strong track record in European public affairs and deep knowledge of the Region I network. I look forward to working with him as we support our Member Clubs to deliver safer, more sustainable and more accessible mobility for road users.” Diogo Pinto, FIA Region I Director General at the FIA, said:  “It is a privilege to continue serving FIA Region I and its Member Clubs in this new capacity. I look forward to working closely with the President, the governing bodies, the FIA, and our team in Brussels to strengthen the voice of consumers and mobility clubs, and to advance safe, sustainable, and affordable mobility for all.” _________________________________For media enquiries please contact:  Sophia Martin-Pavlou, Director of Corporate Communications – smartin-pavlou@fia.com  Maria Zander, Corporate Communications Manager – mzander@fia.com   About the FIAThe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is the governing body for world motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations globally. It is a non-profit organisation committed to driving innovation and championing safety, sustainability and equality across motor sport and mobility. Founded in 1904, with offices in Paris, London and Geneva, the FIA brings together 245 Member Organisations across five continents, representing millions of road users, motor sport professionals and volunteers. It develops and enforces regulations for motor sport, including seven FIA World Championships, to ensure worldwide competitions are safe and fair for all.      ClubsRegion IMobility1MobilityClubsRegion I00Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 2:23pmTuesday, December 23, 2025 - 2:23pm

FIA newsCommissioned as part of a broader commitment to data-driven decision-making and long-term planning, the 2025 ADDC Economic, Environmental and Media Impact Study was conducted with the support of FIA University and led by Professor David Hassan. This reflects EMSO’s ongoing commitment to evidence-based planning and collaboration with leading academic institutions.Set against the backdrop of the UAE’s spectacular desert landscape, the ADDC continues to position Abu Dhabi as a premier destination for international motor sport. The report details the event’s multifaceted economic footprint, spanning logistics, hospitality, accommodation, food and beverage, transport, media production, international broadcast, commercial rights, team operations, volunteers, and specialist services. This comprehensive analysis allows EMSO to benchmark the ADDC against other leading international sporting events, both regionally and globally – reinforcing its role as a model for how sport can generate strategic value across multiple sectors.The study applies internationally recognised methodologies and independently verified data to quantify the total economic and media value of the 2025 ADDC, including extensive international coverage across 90 countries and strong engagement on digital platforms.Key findings of the report include:- The rally attracted over 450 international participants including competitors and team members and welcomed more than 4,000 spectators, contributing significantly to tourism, hospitality, and retail sectors during the UAE’s low tourism season.- The event secured 2-star FIA Environmental Accreditation in recognition of its sustainability planning, resource management, and alignment with international environmental standards.- Global media coverage helped elevate Abu Dhabi’s global sporting profile, particularly through digital and social platforms.The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – founded in 1991 by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and organised by the Emirates Motorsports Organization (EMSO) – is among the world’s most enduring and technically demanding cross-country rally events. The report reinforces how strategically delivered motorsport events can support national goals beyond competition, offering FIA Member Clubs a practical model for impact-led event planning.FIA President and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Founder, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge continues to grow from strength to strength, and it has become a global benchmark in cross-country rallying for its positive economic, cultural, and social impact.At the FIA, we are committed to putting education at the heart of what we do, so I am delighted that this report will be used by FIA Member Clubs to support their work in delivering world-class motorsport events. Thank you to President Khalid Ahmad Bin Sulayem and the Emirates Motorsports Organization for their collaboration.”Prof. David Hassan, FIA University, said:“This study exemplifies the FIA University’s commitment to delivering high-quality, data-led research that informs decision-making across the FIA network. Through our analysis of the ADDC, we provide insights into how professionally delivered motor sport events can yield measurable economic, media and environmental benefits.”Mahir Badri, EMSO Chief Executive, said: "This report demonstrates the real value that well-planned motorsport events can deliver for our communities and economies. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is a unique event, and its success reflects the hard work of everyone involved. We hope these findings will support other Member Clubs as they look to grow their own events in ways that contribute to national goals and showcase the wider impact of our sport."_________________________About the FIA UniversityThe FIA University is the global leader in the accreditation, education and research of world motor sport and mobility. Its cutting-edge research informs public policy and strategy across sport and automotive industries, and serves as a vital resource for FIA Member Clubs around the world. It is supported by the FIA Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the FIA.About the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is the governing body for world motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations globally. It is a non-profit organisation committed to driving innovation and championing safety, sustainability and equality across motor sport and mobility. Founded in 1904, with offices in Paris, London and Geneva, the FIA brings together 245 Member Organisations across five continents, representing millions of road users, motor sport professionals and volunteers. It develops and enforces regulations for motor sport, including seven FIA World Championships, to ensure worldwide competitions are safe and fair for all. Sport ClubsFIA1FIASport Clubs00Monday, December 22, 2025 - 2:39pmMonday, December 22, 2025 - 2:39pm

Sport newsThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the Dakar Rally for a seventh time from January 3rd-17th. The world’s most famous off-road event will kickstart the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) for a fifth season from a start and finish location in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has confirmed that 71 of the 159 crews taking part in the 48th running of the event will be eligible to score points in the opening round of the W2RC. This exceeds the number of registrations for the 2025 event by 21 and gives the W2RC strong foundations on which to build its fifth season.Thirty-five crews are registered in the Ultimate category, with 18 in Challenger, 13 in SSV and five in the new Stock category for series-production cross-country machines.Toyota Gazoo Racing are the defending W2RC Manufacturers’ champions and will aim to defend the title with current Dakar champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi, last year’s runner-up Henk Lategan and young American Seth Quintero spearheading the challenge in their latest specification GR Hiluxes.Al-Rajhi and his navigator Timo Gottschalk are now back to full fitness after back injuries sustained in the Jordan Baja last April, while Lategan and Quintero and their respective navigators, Brett Cummings and Andrew Short, will be looking to build upon strong showings in last season’s W2RC.Brazilian Lucas Moraes is the defending W2RC champion but has made the switch from Toyota to join the Dacia Sandriders team for the start of 2026. Moraes and his Spanish navigator Armand Monleón were triumphant in Portugal last season and Moraes managed to narrowly beat his new team-mate Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah to the Drivers’ title on the final round in Morocco.Dacia fields four Sandriders at the Dakar: Al-Attiyah teams up with Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin, last year’s champion navigator Edouard Boulanger sits alongside nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb and the Spanish duo of Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno crew the fourth car.Ford Racing is making a serious push for a first ever Dakar triumph. Carlos Sainz, Joan Roma and Romain Dumas drive the three Raptors registered for the W2RC Manufacturers’ Championship and will be joined in the fourth and fifth cars by Sweden’s Mattias Ekström and American racer Mitch Guthrie.Co-driving duties in the five Raptors falls to Lucas Cruz, Alex Haro, Alex Winocq, Emil Bergkvist and Kellon Walch.The M-Sport Rally Raid Team will also run a Raptor for Greek veteran Jourdan Serderidis. He teams up with WRC driver Grégoire Munster, who switches to the passenger seat on this occasion. A second car will be in the hands of Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov for the first time. Czech driver Martin Prokop also drives one of the latest Raptors entered under the Orlen Jipocar Team banner.The X-Raid team has registered the French duo of Lionel and Lucie Baud for the W2RC Manufacturers’ series in a diesel-engined version of the Mini JCW Rally.The Trebur-based operation will also run a petrol-engined machine for Belgian Guillaume de Mévius and his returning French navigator and former Dakar winner Mattieu Baumel. The Andorra-based navigator suffered horrific leg injuries in a freak road accident in France last January and has battled back to fitness and the passenger seat with the use of a prosthetic leg. The pair tackled the recent Dubai International Baja as a valuable shakedown and won one of the special stages.Toyota Gazoo Racing SA is chasing outright victory on this occasion with Hilux IMT Evos entered for the newly-crowned FIA World Baja Cup champion Juan Cruz Yacopini, the South African duo of Saood Variawa and Guy Botterill and Portugal’s João Ferreira. Yacopini, however, was seriously injured in a freak accident sustained while diving with friends in his native Argentina before Christmas.In addition to working alongside the Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC team, Overdrive Racing will oversee a Toyota Hilux GR for two-time Dakar motorcycle winner Toby Price and Chilean racer Hernán Garcés.The Polish Energylandia Rally Team is also more than capable of challenging for the top five. Young Eryk Goczal spearheads the challenge with navigator Szymon Gospodarczyk in a Toyota Hilux, alongside his father Marek and uncle Michal in two further entries.French privateers Jean-Luc Ceccaldi (MD Optimus) and Mathieu Serradori (Century CR7), Spaniard Laia Sanz (EBRO S800 XRR) and Czech veteran Miroslav Zapetal (Ford) are among the privateers registered for the W2RC.Defending champions Cavigliasso and Pertegarini top Challenger entryArgentina’s Nicolas Cavigliasso and his navigator Valentina Pertegarini head a massive Challenger field that includes 18 crews chasing W2RC points.The Taurus Evo Max crew won the title with a series of consistent results in 2025 but face competition in Saudi Arabia from the talented local driver Yasir Seaidan and Sergei Remmenik, the newly-crowned Challenger champion in the FIA World Baja Cup. Current FIA Middle East Baja Cup champion Dania Akeel drives the fourth of the leading BBR Taurus machines with support from the Odyssey Academy.The latest of the G Rally Team G-ECKO entries will be in the hands of the Dutch duo of Puck Klaassen and Kees Koolen and Luxembourg-based Charles Munster.The Qatar-based QMMF Team has a Taurus T3 Max for former regional rally champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, while Spaniard Pau Navarro, Argentina’s David Zille and the likes of Paul Spierings, Pedro Gonçalves and Pim Klaassen will be challenging for honours in their Taurus entries.Two-time Dakar motorcycle winner Kevin Benavides makes his event debut on four wheels with a Taurus T3 Max entered in the same Odyssey Academy team as Akeel and Navarro.X-Raid has a solitary Fenic for Italy’s Rebecca Busi and her Uruguayan navigator Sergio Lafuente. Lucas Del Rio drives the only W2RC-registered Can-Am and there are also entries for Frenchman Herve Guillaume (PH-Sport Zephyr) and Rui Carneiro (MMP T3).Veteran former WRC star and Dakar champion Bruno Saby returns to the hot seat in a Taurus Evo Max with Benjamin Boulloud, but is not registered for the W2RC.Can-Am Factory Team entries dominate SSV entry While official Can-Am Factory Team entries dominate the registered crews in the SSV class, the Portuguese pairing of Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira top the field in their Polaris RZR Pro R Sport and return to defend their respective W2RC titles.Pinto claimed maximum points at the Dakar and in Portugal in 2025, finished second in Morocco and third in Abu Dhabi and South Africa to win the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points.Santag Racing has also entered a pair of Polaris RZRs to challenge for honours. They will be in the hands of the Portuguese duo of João Dias and Helder Rodrigues and their navigators, Daniel Jordao and Gonçalo Reis.Francisco Lopez is a multiple Dakar champion across the minor disciplines and the Chilean spearheads the Can-Am Factory Team Latam challenge with Alvaro León in one of the latest Maverick Rs. His team mates are the Argentinean quartet of Manuel Andujar/Andres Frini and Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli/Gonzalo Rinaldi.Portugal’s João Monteiro and the American duo of Hunter Miller and Kyle Chaney drive the three Can-Am Factory Team Mavericks, while the South Racing Can-Am Team runs cars for Maciej Oleksowicz and Richard Aczel. Privateers, Joan Pfierrer and Mindaugas Sidabras, are also registered for W2RC points.Loeb Fraymedia Motorsport fields five Polaris RZR Pro Rs in conjunction with RZR Factory Racing but none of the crews are registered for the W2RC. Brock Heger, Gonçalo Guerreiro, Xavier de Soultrait, Florent Vayssade and Swedish rallycross legend Johan Kristoffersson drive the five cars.Dakar legend Peterhansel tops new Stock categoryFrench legend Stéphane Peterhansel won the Dakar six times with Yamaha on two wheels and eight times on four wheels with Mitsubishi, Mini and Peugeot. The most successful racer in the 47th-year history of the event returns this year to spearhead the new Stock category as a member of the Defender Rally team.Peterhansel teams up with Michael Metge to drive the first of three new Defender Dakar D7x-Rs, alongside Lithuanian’s Rokas Baciuška and American Sara Price and their respective navigators Oriol Vidal and Sean Berriman.Toyota has dominated the series-production class in recent years but the pace shown by both Peterhansel and Baciuška at the recent Dubai International Baja was impressive.The Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body challenge lies in the hands of Akira Miura and Ronald Basso on this occasion and their navigators, Jean-Michel Polato and Julien Menard.The routeThe route for the 48th running of the world’s most famous off-road event has been heavily modified since 2025. The 2026 version switches its start location from Bisha to Yanbu and also finishes in the Red Sea port city in the Medina province of western Saudi Arabia.This year’s route crosses 7,994km with 13 stages and 4,840 competitive kilometres (subject to final route checks).After administration formalities in Yanbu on January 1st and 2nd, the 23km Prologue stage gets the competitive action underway on January 3rd. This precedes the opening 305km loop stage through the deserts around Yanbu on January 4th.The route then heads to Al-Ula for a 400km second stage with the scenic old oasis town hosting the event for two nights and also a third loop stage of 422km on January 6th.Competitors then head into the first part of a Marathon stage to Ha’il with section one offering 451km timed against the clock on January 7th and the second part running for 372km before a night halt in Ha’il on January 8th.A long run south to Riyadh on January 9th includes a sixth stage of 331km before competitors take advantage of a rest day in the Saudi capital on Saturday, January 10th.Action resumes on January 11th with a 462km special between Riyadh and Wadi Ad-Dawasir. The city in Najd then hosts the event for a second night with competitors tackling a daunting loop stage of 481km – the longest of the entire event – on January 12th.They then set off towards Bisha for the first part of a second Marathon stage that runs for 410km on January 13th and concludes in Bisha after another timed section of 421km.  The route then heads into the Medina Province on January 15th with a 347km stage between Bisha and Al-Henakiyah.The sting in the tail could well be the 12th and penultimate stage of 310km between Al-Henakiyah and Yanbu on January 16th, before the event concludes on January 17th with a short 105km finale, near Yanbu.2026 Dakar Rally – leading entries (W2RC registered only): Ultimate 201. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (GER)                                                                Toyota Hilux GR                           202. Henk Lategan (RSA)/Brett Cummings (RSA)                                                                   Toyota Hilux GR211. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP)                                                             Toyota Hilux IMT Evo223. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                                                                 Dacia Sandrider225. Carlos Sainz (ESP)/Lucas Cruz (ESP)                                                                                Ford Raptor299. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL)                                                     Dacia Sandrider203. Seth Quintero (USA)/Andrew Short (USA)                                                                     Toyota Hilux GR213. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA)                                                                 Toyota Hilux IMT Evo219. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA)                                                            Dacia Sandrider221. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE)                                                                       Ford Raptor222. Guillaume de Mévius (BEL)/Mathieu Baumel (FRA)                                                      Mini JCW Rally 3.0i226. Mattias Ekström (SWE)/Emil Bergkvist (SWE)                                                                Ford Raptor227. Joan Roma (ESP)/Alex Haro (ESP)                                                                                   Ford Raptor228. Mitch Guthrie (USA)/Kellon Walch (USA)                                                                      Ford Raptor236. Romain Dumas (FRA)/Alex Winocq (FRA)                                                                      Ford Raptor204. Toby Price (AUS)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                                                                      Toyota Hilux GR205. Eryk Goczal (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL)                                                            Toyota Hilux206. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL)                                                                     Toyota Hilux207. Jean-Luc Ceccaldi (FRA)/Pascal Delecour (FRA)                                                             Optimum MD Rallye208. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA)                                                                               Mini JCW Rally 3.0D209. Michal Goczal (POL)/Diego Ortega (ESP)                                                                        Toyota Hilux210. Hernán Garcés (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHI)                                                              Toyota Hilux212. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP)                                                                 Dacia Sandrider214. Mathieu Serradori (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA)                                                             Century CR7217. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (KGZ)                                                               Ford Raptor218. Guy Botterill (RSA)/Oriol Mena (ESP)                                                                             Toyota Hilux IMT Evo229. Daniel Schröder (GER)/Henry Kohne (RSA)                                                                    Volkswagen Amarok232. Laia Sanz (ESP)/Maurizio Gerini (ITA)                                                                             Ebro S800 XRR233. Isidre Esteve Pujol (ESP)/José-Maria Villalobos (ESP)                                                    Toyota Hilux240. Joāo Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR)                                                                     Toyota Hilux IMT Evo242. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK)                                                                 Ford F150 Evo250. Aliyyah Koloc (SEY)/Marcin Pasek (POL)                                                                        Red-Lined Revo T1+251. Martin Koloc (CZE)/Mirko Brun (ITA)                                                                              Red-Lined Revo T1+265. Nathan Hayashi (CAN)/Shane Hairsine (CAN)                                                                Ford Bronco Raptor269. Jourdan Serderidis (GRE)/Grégoire Munster (LUX)                                                        Ford Raptor Select others (not W2RC registered*)224. Brian Baragwanath (RSA)/Leonard Cremer (RSA)                                                          Century CR7*                               230. Christian Lavieille (FRA)/Valentin Sarreaud (FRA)                                                          Optimus MD Rallye*235. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Gilles Pillot (FRA)                                                                          Toyota Hilux*239. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE)                                                             Toyota Hilux IMT Evo* Challenger 300. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)/Valentia Pertegarini (ARG)                                                   Taurus Evo Max304. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Xavier Flick (FRA)                                                                           Taurus Evo Max331. Sergei Remmenik (ANA)/Aleksei Ignatov (ANA)                                                             Taurus T3 Max301. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA)                                                                Taurus T3 Max302. Puck Klaassen (NED)/ Augusto Sanz (ARG)                                                                     G Rally Team G-ECKO303. Kees Koolen (NED)/Jurgen van den Goorbergh (NED)                                                   G Rally Team G-ECKO305. David Zille (ARG)/Sebastien Cesana (ARG)                                                                     Taurus T3 Max306. Pedro Gonçalves (PRT)/Hugo Maghalães (PRT)                                                             Taurus T3 Max310. Paul Spierings (NED)/Jan Pieter van der Stelt (NED)                                                      Taurus Evo Max316. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA)                                                         Taurus T3 Max319. Herve Guillaume (FRA)/Maxime Guillaume (FRA)                                                         PH-Sport Zephyr Phase 2321. Rui Carneiro (POR)/Fausto Mota (POR)                                                                          MMP T3 Rally-Raid323. Pim Klaassen (NED)/Mark Laan (NED)                                                                            Taurus Evo Max335. Charles Munster (LUX)/Xavier Panseri (FRA)                                                                 G Rally Team G-ECKO336. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa (ESP)                                                                                  Taurus T3 Max338. Lucas Del Rio (CHI)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG)                                                                       Can-Am Maverick WRS340. Rebecca Busi (ITA)/Sergio Lafuente (URU)                                                                     X-Raid Fenic347. Kevin Benavides (ARG)/Lisandro Sisterna (ARG)                                                            Taurus T3 Max SSV 400. Alexandre Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR)                                                            Polaris RZR Pro R Sport402. Francesco Lopez (CHI)/Alvaro Leon (CHI)                                                                       Can-Am Maverick R405. Manuel Andujar (ARG)/Andres Frini (ARG)                                                                    Can-Am Maverick R406. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG)/Gonzalo Rinaldi (ARG)                                                Can-Am Maverick R   408. João Monteiro (POR)/Nuno Morais (POR)                                                                     Can-Am Maverick R410. Hunter Miller (USA)/Jeremy Gray (USA)                                                                        Can-Am Maverick R416. Kyle Chaney (USA)/Jacob Argubright (USA)                                                                   Can-Am Maverick R428. Maciej Oleksowicz (POL)/Marcin Sienkiewicz (POL)                                                                        Can-Am Maverick R432. Richard Aczel (GBR)/Wouter Rosegaar (NED)                                                                Can-Am Maverick R417. Helder Rodrigues (POR)/Gonçalo Reis (POR)                                                                 Polaris RZR Pro R Sport424. João Dias (POR)/Daniel Jordao (POR)                                                                             Polaris RZR Pro R Sport                425. Joan Pfierrer (ESP)/Xavier Blanco (ESP)                                                                          Can-Am Maverick R427. Mindaugas Sidabras (LTU)/Ernestas Česokas (LTU)                                                       Can-Am Maverick R Select others (not W2RC registered*)435. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Fahad Al-Amr (KSA)                                                                Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*401.Brock Heger (USA)/Max Eddy (USA)                                                                                Polaris RZR Pro R*404. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR)/Maykel Justo (BRA)                                                               Polaris RZR Pro R*407. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA)/Martin Bonnet (FRA)                                                              Polaris RZR Pro R*412. Florent Vayssade (FRA)/Nicolas Rey (FRA)                                                                     Polaris RZR Pro R*420. Johan Kristoffersson (SWE)/Ola Floene (NOR)                                                               Polaris RZR Pro R* Stock500. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Michael Metge (FRA)                                                       Defender Dakar D7x-R502. Rokas Baciuška (LTU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP)                                                                          Defender Dakar D7x-R504. Sara Price (USA)/Sean Berriman (USA)                                                                           Defender Dakar D7x-R501. Akira Miura (JPN)/Jean-Michel Polato (FRA)                                                                  Toyota Land Cruiser GR Sport503. Ronald Basso (FRA)/Julien Menard (FRA)                                                                       Toyota Land Cruiser GR Sport Timetable of eventsThursday, January 1Accreditation and administration, Start camp, Bisha                                       07.00hrs-21.00hrs Friday, January 2Accreditation and administration, Start camp, Bisha                                       07.00hrs-21.00hrsRe-scrutineering checks, Start camp, Bisha                                                          10.00hrs-16.00hrsW2RC 2026 season presentation                                                                              16.15hrs-17.00hrsPress conference, Start camp, Bisha                                                                        18.00hrs-19.00hrs Saturday, January 3 Yanbu (Prologue – 23km)                                                                                             10.30hrs                                                                                          Sunday, January 4Yanbu-Yanbu (Stage 1 – 305km)                                                                               08.20hrs                                     Monday, January 5Yanbu-Al-Ula (Stage 2 – 400km)                                                                                09.15hrs Tuesday, January 6Al-Ula-Al-Ula (Stage 3 – 422km)                                                                                08.35hrs                                     Wednesday, January 7Al-Ula-Refuge Marathon (Stage 4 - 451km)                                                          06.35hrs                                     Thursday, January 8Refuge Marathon-Ha’il (Stage 5 – 372km)                                                            08.00hrs Friday, January 9Ha’il-Riyadh (Stage 6 – 331km)                                                                                  06.20hrs                                                      Saturday, January 10Riyadh rest day Sunday, January 11Riyadh-Wadi Ad-Dawasir (Stage 7 – 462km)                                                        06.15hrs                                     Monday, January 12Wadi Ad-Dawasir- Wadi Ad-Dawasir (Stage 8 – 481km)                                  07.45hrs                                                                                          Tuesday, January 13Wadi Ad-Dawasir-Refuge Marathon (Stage 9 – 410km)                                  06.30hrs                                                                                                            Wednesday, January 14Refuge Marathon-Bisha (Stage 10 – 421km)                                                       07.15hrs                                                                                          Thursday, January 15Bisha-Al-Henakiyah (Stage 11 – 347km)                                                                 07.10hrs                                                                                                                                                Friday, January 16Al-Henakiyah-Yanbu (Stage 12 – 310km)                                                               07.30hrs                                                                                                                              Saturday, January 17Yanbu – Power Selective Section (Stage 13 – 105km)                                     11.55hrsFinisher ceremony                                                                                                           14.00hrs-18.00hrs                Post-rally press conference                                                                                         18.00hrs                  Podium and prize giving, Yanbu                                                                                20.00hrs FIA World Rally-Raid ChampionshipOff-roadSEASON 2026SportOff-Road1SportFIA World Rally-Raid ChampionshipOff-RoadSEASON 2026Off-road00Saturday, December 20, 2025 - 5:26pmSaturday, December 20, 2025 - 5:26pm