"This Dakar will be brutal"

Yazid Al-Raji and his navigator Timo Gottschalk will try to win the Dakar Rally agai piese auto online.

"This Dakar will be brutal"

This year's Dakar Rally, which starts on January 4 in Saudi Arabia, will be an unprecedentedly difficult one. Three stages will feature service stations – but only tyre changes will be allowed. The reason: for example, around the Red Sea city of Yanbu, where the start and finish are, the route passes through extremely challenging rocky stages. "It's just a matter of luck whether you get a flat tyre or not," explains navigator Timo Gottschalk, who will be fighting to defend his title from last year alongside local ace Yazid Al-Raji.

Cars in the Dakar Rally usually have two spare tires. However, recently teams have been forced to borrow extra ones from their competitors on several occasions. Or they have crossed the finish line with flat tires and a slower pace. In future, service stops should prevent this. Still, according to Timo Gottschalk, "This Dakar will be very tough for everyone."

With nearly 4,800 kilometers of speed stages, the 2026 edition is the longest of the seven races held in Saudi Arabia. The program includes 13 special stages, including a monstrous 480-kilometer test and two marathon stages without the evening service. "In addition, the route no longer runs through the endless dunes of the "Empty Square" (ed. note: Rub al-Khali), but passes over many more dirt roads," adds Gottschalk.

However, the Brandenburg-born racer is optimistic. “Yazid may be a desert man, but he handles macadam even better than he does in deep sand.” Toyota engineers have given the Hilux (3.5-liter V6 turbocharged gasoline engine, around 400 hp) a revised suspension. In addition to last year’s winners Al-Raji/Gottschalk, who race for the Toyota-backed Belgian team Overdrive, the favorites include the brand’s factory drivers Henk Lategan (South Africa) – runner-up in the 2025 Dakar Rally – and Seth Quintero (USA).

On paper, Dacia is the strongest team. Behind the wheel of the Sandriders (3-liter V6 turbocharged gasoline engine, about 360 hp) are five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), nine-time World Rally Championship champion Sébastien Loeb (France) and Brazilian Lucas Moraes.

Ford is the third team with a strong chance of victory. "For me, it's the hidden favorite," predicts Timo Gottschalk. And not only because former DTM champion Matthias Ekström finished third last year. But also because the British M-Sport team has significantly improved the Raptor (5-liter naturally aspirated V8, around 400 hp). In addition, the team also has WRC legend Carlos Sainz. The Matador, father of the Formula 1 driver of the same name, will be chasing his fifth victory in the most prestigious rally raid on the planet.

Stéphane Peterhanzel has amassed a remarkable 14 victories – six on a motorbike and eight on a car. The Frenchman returns after a year-long break, but he is no threat to the favourites – as he will be driving for the new Land Rover works team, which is aiming to take the win in the much slower production cars with the Defender (with a 4.4-litre V8 turbo, around 635bhp). The starting list includes around 80 cars, 45 trucks, 80 buggies and 120 motorbikes.

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

This year's Dakar Rally, which starts on January 4 in Saudi Arabia, will be an unprecedentedly difficult one

Cars in the Dakar Rally usually have two spare tires