• Defending champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk with little luck and a hefty penalty on the first leg in the classification
• Stage leads in a loop around Yanbu, stony ground and plenty of speed included
• Driving and navigational challenge with constant changes between canyons and wadis

Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (January 4, 2026) – It’s all to play for now: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have started the 2026 Dakar Rally having lost a lot of time. The defending champions finished the first stage around the port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea, which is also the first leg that counts towards the overall standings, outside the top 20. The search for a waypoint proved to be the big sticking point – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk did not agree on the direction to take, took the wrong route together and thus missed an obligatory waypoint: 15 minutes penalty time plus another for exceeding the speed limit once. As a result, they are now already 28 minutes and 52 seconds behind the day’s winners and first overall leaders Guillaume de Mévius/Matthieu Baumel (BEL/FRA, Mini).

The first leg of the Dakar Rally in a loop around Yanbu was a balanced stage that began without any major challenges and was easy to drive. On predominantly sand and gravel, fast and very fast passages in canyons alternated with more technical sections, which had deteriorated due to the recent rainfall. Numerous canyon changes and wadis required increased attention when navigating. As the race progressed, wider, faster wadis, short off-piste dune sections and a final challenging canyon before the finish led to a high but constant race pace overall, where vigilance remained crucial.

Twelve more stages will follow on Monday, giving the opportunity to make up lost ground. The participants still have 4,534 kilometers of special stages ahead of them, 93.7 percent of the distance.

QUOTES

“At a confusing spot with lots of canyons, we chose the wrong one, although Timo had the right instinct. But we still wanted to give it a try. Thanks to the competitors’ dust, we found the right route again – but too late. Not an ideal start to the Dakar Rally and a bitter loss of time!”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“We had two punctures early on before we took the wrong canyon at a tricky spot. Although we were soon back on the right route, we had unfortunately validated the next but one waypoint and thus incurred the penalty. Not a good start, but there is still a lot of terrain ahead of us and we are certainly not giving up. We will try to make up as much ground as possible over the next twelve stages!”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK