Mitch Guthrie took a surprise win after Nani Roma’s penalty as Ford dominated the grueling 371-kilometer Dakar Rally 2026 Stage 5, marking a powerful comeback for the American squad.
The pivotal return leg of the marathon stage from Al-Ula to Hail tested every competitor’s navigation skills, endurance, and mechanical reliability, as the absence of motorcycle tracks left car drivers pioneering their own paths through treacherous terrain riddled with rocky outcrops and fast gravel sections that demanded split-second decision-making.
Mitch Guthrie rebounded from a disastrous 44-minute deficit on the previous day where he opened the road by setting early pace in his #222 Ford Raptor T1+, building a lead of over a minute midway through before trading blows with teammate Nani Roma in a thrilling finale.
Two-time Dakar winner Roma piloting the #228 Ford had started with caution which saw him fall to third behind Dacia’s Lucas Moraes by the halfway checkpoint, but unleashed a ferocious charge in the closing 100km, reeling in Guthrie to cross the line provisionally first by four seconds.
However, a one-minute-ten-second speeding penalty demoted the Spanish driver to second, effectively handing Guthrie his second stage victory of the rally after his Stage 3 triumph.
Meanwhile, Martin Prokop solidified Ford’s dominance after finishing third in the customer Orlen Jipocar Raptor, just 2m14s behind the factory duo.
Prokop’s consistent run highlighted the depth of Ford’s challenge, as the Czech driver capitalized on cleaner navigation to slot into the top three without the mechanical woes that plagued others, finishing mere seconds ahead of a charging Moraes who snatched fourth in his #223 Dacia Sandrider.
The Ford onslaught continued deeper into the top ten with Mattias Ekstrom in fifth and Carlos Sainz Sr. in sixth, the duo demonstrating the Raptor’s superior handling on the stage’s mixed surfaces while chipping away at Toyota’s advantage.
Joao Ferreira delivered Toyota’s best effort in seventh with the Hilux closely tailed by teammates Guy Botterill and Seth Quintero in eighth and ninth, while nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb made it two Dacia Sandriders in the top ten.
Meanwhile Stage 4 winner Henk Lategan faced the harshest navigation conundrum without bike ruts to follow after he was burdened with road-opening duties, but limited the damage to place his #202 Toyota Hilux in 15th, 12m43s behind Guthrie.
His co-driver Brett Cummings played a crucial role in decoding the ambiguous waypoints amid rocky sectors that snared lesser crews, preserving Lategan’s overall lead with a slender 3m17s buffer over second placed Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Al-Attiyah in his #299 Dacia opted for a safety-first strategy after starting behind Lategan, and ultimately finished 14th after a two-minute penalty.
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Bikes: KTM’s Luciano Benavides wins Dakar Stage 5, Daniel Sanders reclaims overall lead
In the bikes category, Luciano Benavides claimed a masterful victory in Dakar Rally 2026 Stage 5 aboard his Factory Red Bull KTM 450.
The Argentine racer stormed to his sixth career Dakar stage win after executing impeccable tire management and navigation through the marathon stage, fending off Hero’s Ignacio Cornejo by 3m51s in second.
Meanwhile, Australian KTM teammate Daniel Sanders consolidated his overall lead with a gritty third place, 5m50s behind Benavides, reclaiming the top spot by a razor-thin 2m02s margin over Ricky Brabec thanks to intra-team strategy that positioned him favorably for the dune-heavy Stage 6.
Brabec delivered rock-solid consistency for Monster Energy Honda HRC in fifth, just behind Bradley Cox on his Sherco TVS, as teammate Tosha Schareina plummeted to seventh after a 10-minute penalty for failing to properly exit the marathon bivouac, dropping to fourth overall, +12 minutes in arrears.
Adrien Van Beveren finished ninth, losing over 30 minutes after a wire entangled his wheel at kilometer 88, as KTM’s prologue and Stage 1 winner Edgar Canet melted down to 11th after rear wheel foam issues.
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