The 2026 Dakar Rally
The tires are pumped and the engines are revving as the world’s most brutal race gets ready to start. The Dakar Rally has been part of any motoring enthusiasts’ mainstay for almost half a decade but how how did Dakar Rally start? The Dakar history starts in 1976 when French motorcycle rider Thierry Sabine got lost in the Libyan dessert. The experience led him to create the Dakar in 1978 to push the boundaries of what humans and machines can achieve.
The upcoming Dakar Rally 2026 will be the 48th edition of the Dakar and will commence on the 3rd of January. The race takes 14 days to compete and is also estimated at about 8000km. One name that needs to be mentioned is the GOAT Stéphane Peterhansel. Stéphane has won the race 14 times, 6 times on a bike and 8 times in a car. If you enjoyed Dakar 2025 be sure not to miss the start of Dakar 2026!
Dakar Route 2026
The 2026 Dakar Rally is scheduled from January 3 to January 17, 2026, thus marking its 48th edition and the seventh consecutive year it takes place in Saudi Arabia. This new route is also all about balance!
Furthermore The Dakar Rally route for 2026 raises the bar once again. In fact, organisers have designed a course that almost matches the record number of competitive kilometres raced in Saudi Arabia so far. As a result, drivers and crews face relentless physical and mental pressure from start to finish. They must master every surface imaginable, from deep and technical dunes to fast desert tracks as well as mixed terrain that constantly tests navigation and vehicle control.
At the same time, Dakar has fine-tuned the structure of the race. Fewer bivouacs mean support crews arrive fresher and better prepared, therefore keeps service levels high even as the rally intensity ramps up. Balance also played a key role in shaping the route. Therefore, organisers introduced a new take on marathon stages, including overnight bivouac stops placed mid-week. Tough, punishing stages now flow into strategic recovery opportunities around the rest day, thus creating a demanding yet fair rhythm without chasing perfect symmetry.
For 2026, Yanbu takes centre stage once more. The rally launches from Yanbu on a sweeping loop that finishes exactly where it begins. As engines cool and dust settles, competitors return to the calm sound of Red Sea waves, thus an iconic and fitting bookend to one of the toughest endurance races in world motorsport.
The Dakar’s Three Eras
The route of the Dakar has changed over the years, therefore here is a breakdown of the three routes used in the Dakar to date.
1. Paris to Dakar: 1978 to 2007
- Race length: 10 000km.
- Time to finish: 16 to 20 days.
The first route that was used is the longest from Paris to Dakar. The route was through Europe into Africa and through the Saharah desert to the final destination Dakar. Organisers abandoned this route just a few days before the 2008 race was due to start. Fears of the safety of participants from rebel groups in Mauritania also made the organisers cancel that year’s race.
2. South America-Chile, Argentina, Peru & Bolivia: 2009 – 2019
- Race length: 9600km.
- Time to finish: 13 to 15 days.
The difficulties in Africa led to the organisers of the event to look for an alternative route. Therefore the new route took the drivers through Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. The South American route had all the elements of mountainous as well as desert regions to test the capabilities of what machine and humans can do. The stable political environment was also a draw card to move the race. But, the logistics of having the event in South Americas took the toll on the event coordinators.
3. Saudi Arabia Dakar: 2020 to present
- Race length: 8000km.
- Time to finish: 12 to 14 days.
The Dakar Rally 2026 route in Saudi Arabia came into play after the Saudi government stepped in to guarantee support for the race. Furthermore many of the South American countries faced financial difficulties which meant they were not willing to contribute to have the race come through the countries. Flooding in parts of the route made certain stages impossible to run and also forced organisers to cancel them in previous years. The Saudi Government was willing to back the Dakar financially. The Rub’ al Khali desert which is one of the biggest in the world is in Saudi Arabia and has all the elements needed for the race. Keeping the race in one country also meant ease of having to sort out logistical problems with visas. The Dakar 2026 stage starts in Yanbu and winds through the Rub’ al Khali desert and finished again in Yanbu.
Different categories in the Dakar
The Motorbike Division
- Rally GP has pro motorbikes as well as factory riders.
- Rally 2 has privateer bikes with up and coming racers.
- Original Moto, privateer bikes with no support. Considered the hardest.
- Quads, four wheel quad bikes ridden by FIM riders.
The Car Division
- T1 Unltimate, top production cars. Factory and elite teams participate.
- T2, production cars by amateur teams.
- T3, lightweight prototypes, factory and private racers.
- T4, SSV/side by side, privateer class.
- T5, 10 ton trucks, professional truck teams.
- Classic, older cars pre 2000 production cars, privateer class.
- Mission 1000, tech prototypes, driven by experimental teams.
S.A Dakar Legends and Strong Contenders
A big amount of South Africans are racing in the upcoming Dakar. Giniel de Villiers is South Africa’s most experienced and iconic Dakar racer. Dakar winners include Giniel who won the race in 2009. He also has multiple podiums and entered the race over 20 times. Alfie Cox is another name that comes to mind when thinking about South Africans in the Dakar. The motorcycle racer has many podium standings on bikes.
Key South African Drivers & Crews
- Henk Lategan & Brett Cummings: Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC
- Saood Variawa & Francois Cazalet: Toyota Gazoo Racing SA
- Guy Botterill & Oriol Mena: Toyota Gazoo Racing SA
- Brian Baragwanath & Leonard Cremer: Century Racing Factory Team
- Puck Klaassen & Augusto Sanz: KTM X-BOW Powered By G Rally (Challenger Class)
- Leander Pienaar & Abdullah Al-Fahad: SSV (Light Prototype)
- Dennis Murphy & Lawrence Janesky: SSV (Light Prototype)
Key Teams & Engineering:
- Toyota Gazoo Racing SA: Running their powerful Hilux vehicles.
- Century Racing, Red-Lined Motorsport, WCT Engineering: Showcasing South African engineering with locally built machines.
Other Noteworthy Mentions:
- South African commentator Matt Smith will make his Dakar debut on the world broadcast.
- Bradley Cox and Michael Docherty are listed in the bike categories.
The strong contingent reflects South Africa’s deep talent pool in rally raid and its significant role as a hub for developing top-tier rally vehicles, with many SA-built cars competing globally, states Motorsport South Africa.
There are a few strong contenders to include in the Dakar Rally betting in South Africa. Car driver contenders in the top flight are Nasser Al-Attiyah, Sébastien Loeb and South African Henk Lategan. Top tier in bikes are Daniel Sanders, Luciano Benavides and Edgar Canet. Bradley Cox and Saood Variawa are good underdog bets and can offer great odds.
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