Mathieu Serradori piloted his Century CR7 to a commanding victory in Dakar Rally 2026 Stage 10 as Nasser Al-Attiyah capitalized on rivals’ misfortunes to reclaim overall lead in the car category.
Serradori’s victory with co-driver Loic Minaudier, marked only the second stage win for both the French driver and the South African-prepared buggy, echoing their triumph back in the 2020 edition when the rally first ventured into Saudi Arabia.
The pivotal marathon stage, run as a loop from Bisha back to Bisha covering 417 kilometers with a demanding 371-kilometer special sector dominated by vast sand dunes, tested the limits of every competitor’s navigation, endurance, and vehicle reliability.
Mathieu Serradori started the day in a strong position but found himself initially trailing Mattias Ekstrom’s factory Ford Raptor by just five seconds after the first quarter of the special.
However, Ekstrom encountered severe mechanical issues that forced him to stop just before the 100-kilometer mark, allowing Serradori to inherit the lead which he defended relentlessly through the second half.
The Frenchman methodically built his advantage, pulling more than seven minutes clear of the chasing pack by the final checkpoint, though a two-minute penalty for overspeeding trimmed his official winning margin to 6m12s ahead of second-place finisher Nasser Al-Attiyah in the Dacia Sandrider.
Al-Attiyah’s runner-up finish proved golden for his overall aspirations as the Qatari driver flawlessly negotiated the dune gauntlet without major incident, culminating in a total stage time that vaulted him to the top of the overall classification with a commanding 41h39m50s.
Meanwhile, teammate Sebastien Loeb rounded out the stage podium in third after overcoming a power steering malfunction from the prior day that he personally rectified overnight in the bivouac.
The nine-time World Rally Champion trailed Serradori by nine minutes at the flag, his recovery drive through Bisha’s fast gravel sections and technical dune sections injecting fresh momentum into Dacia’s campaign, elevating him to fourth overall, 23m4s behind Al-Attiyah.
Reigning World Raid-Raid Champion Lucas Moraes delivered a commendable fourth-place finish, solidifying what was a dominant showing for the Dacia Sandriders on the grueling Dakar marathon stage.
Guy Botterill marked the first of the Toyotas in fifth, followed by Henk Lategan who slipped to sixth after losing 13 minutes attributed to cautious pacing, yet his measured charge propelled him to second overall just 12 minutes behind Al-Attiyah.
M-Sport’s Dennis Krotov was the first of the Ford Raptors in seventh, while Mitch Guthrie snagged eighth for factory Ford narrowly edging out JJ-Sport’s Biaobiao Zhang and Czech privateer Martin Prokop in an identically prepared Raptor.
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Overnight leader Nani Roma tumbled to 11th after a challenging loop that exposed vulnerabilities in the American marque’s lineup, dropping him to third overall, while Mattias Ekstrom’s mechanical stoppage relegated him to a 17th-place stage finish, tumbling to sixth overall.
Carlos Sainz Sr. suffered even more profoundly after suffering navigation mishaps between key waypoints which cost him 20 minutes, exacerbated by a 15-minute penalty that ballooned his stage loss to 35 minutes and a 33rd-place finish.
The two-time Dakar victor now languishes seventh overall, 39m9s adrift, a blow that dims his prospects but doesn’t extinguish them given his storied resilience.
Adrien Van Beveren wins Stage 10 as Daniel Sanders injures shoulder in crash
Shifting to the motorbike category, Monster Energy Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren stormed to victory in Dakar Rally 2026 Stage 10, edging out teammate Ricky Brabec by 3m49s.
Luciano Benavides on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine chased valiantly to finish third, 4m4s adrift, with his aggressive riding style paying dividends despite a minor crash mid-stage.
Skyler Howes solidified Honda’s strong showing in fourth ahead of Hero’s Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo who made a remarkable recovery from earlier stage setbacks to finish fifth.
Dakar Stage 9 winner Tosha Schareina mustered sixth for Honda, followed by KTM’s Edgar Canet whose day was interrupted by stopping to assist several riders involved in crashes during the timed special.
Daniel Sanders finished ninth after crashing heavily off a dune injuring his left collarbone.
The incident effectively ended hopes of defending his Dakar title, with the Australian conceding 27 minutes over the course of the stage, slipping to fourth in the overall standings, 17m behind new leader Brabec.
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