Ford drivers lose a lot of time on stage ten – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) regains the lead – Daniel Sanders (KTM) crashes in the motorcycle category
Mathieu Serradori secured Century’s first stage victory on the tenth stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The Ford drivers encountered some difficulties and lost a lot of time. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) retook the lead and now has a twelve-minute advantage over Henk Lategan (Toyota).
The tenth stage was the second part of the marathon stage of the second week. From the temporary tent camp, the route continued eastward toward Bischa. There were separate routes for motorcycles (368 kilometers) and cars (420 kilometers). Sand dominated the terrain.
The day got off to a turbulent start for Cristina Gutierrez. After only about seven kilometers, the Spaniard rolled her car, but she was able to continue with some time lost. Her Dacia teammate Sebastien Loeb had managed to repair the power steering problems yesterday evening.
The difficult day in the dunes once again provided a surprise. Serradori, who started in 31st place, made the most of this advantage and took the stage win. It was the first for the South African Century brand. In the overall standings, a small preliminary decision may have been made. Al-Attiyah, who started in 14th place immediately after Lategan, took second place, just six minutes behind. His immediate rivals lost time. Lategan was only 13 minutes behind Serradori today, but the Ford camp in particular lost a lot of time. Nani Roma lost 20 minutes and Carlos Sainz 45, because Sainz spent a long time looking for a waypoint. “No idea, difficult,” commented “El Matador.”
Mattias Ekström had technical problems after just 97 kilometers. When the Swede finally reached the finish line, the extent of his time loss became apparent. His difficulties cost Ekström half an hour.
This result means that Al-Attiyah has regained the lead in the overall standings. His lead over Lategan is exactly twelve minutes. Roma fell back to third place, 12:50 minutes behind Al-Attiyah.
Loeb is now fourth (+23:04 minutes), followed by Serradori (+33:42). Ekström and Sainz fell back to sixth and seventh place, 34 and 39 minutes behind respectively. With three stages to go before the finish in Yanbu, the race is shaping up well for Al-Attiyah. “It was very tough,” said the five-time overall winner. “My head and my body took a real beating! But we really attacked from start to finish. The car is fine, but I’m completely exhausted. It’s not because I’m too old, though.”
Motorcycles: Daniel Sanders injured in crash
Tosha Schareina opened the day, but the Honda rider was soon caught up on the track by KTM riders Daniel Sanders and Michael Docherty. At kilometer 138, Sanders crashed. His rivals Schareina and Ricky Brabec (Honda) stopped to help. At first, everything seemed to be fine. Everyone continued riding. However, it soon became apparent that Sanders was unable to keep up with the pace of the other leading riders. As a result, Schareina, Brabec, Adrien van Beveren (also Honda), and Docherty opened up the track. Sanders followed about five minutes behind, but his gap was growing rapidly. During the neutralization, he sought medical attention. According to initial information, the Australian suffered injuries to his left shoulder, which he later confirmed at the finish line.
“It definitely looks like a broken collarbone,” Sanders reports. “We checked it while refueling, but yes, it happened at kilometer 140. I jumped over a dune and it was pretty scary. I almost landed on Tosha.”
Respect. A crucial moment in this year’s race as Daniel Sanders crashed on Stage and Ricky Brabec was there by his rival’s side to assist DakarInSaudi Dakar2026 pic.twitter.com/BQeZJOvSIj
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2026
“I got up and knew that my collarbone was broken. I also broke my sternum. I’m not giving up, so I’m not going to back down until someone tells me to get out or they drag me out of the race. I’m not stopping!”
Van Beveren ultimately secured the day’s victory, four minutes ahead of Luciano Benavides (KTM). Sanders lost almost half an hour in total. In the provisional overall standings, Benavides was initially the new leader, 41 seconds ahead of Brabec. However, Brabec and Schareina were subsequently awarded time credits for stopping and helping Sanders after his crash. This meant that the overall lead changed from Benavides to Brabec. The Honda rider has a 56-second lead. Schareina is in third place, 15:43 minutes behind.
On Thursday, the eleventh stage will head north to Al-Henakiyah. With a total of 882 kilometers, it will be a long day. The special stage will cover 347 kilometers.