For Tobias Ebster, the 2026 Dakar ends before it really begins – a low-speed crash leads to a broken scaphoid bone – the rally is over
Tobias Ebster’s first Dakar Rally as a Hero factory rider came to an end in the third stage. The Austrian crashed not far from Al-‘Ula at the start of the special stage after only 14 kilometers. Ebster received first aid and was then taken back to the bivouac by helicopter.
“The X-rays and CT scan immediately revealed that the scaphoid bone was broken,” said Ebster, describing the extent of the injury to his left hand.
“Unfortunately, I broke this scaphoid bone two years ago, shortly before my first Dakar Rally. I had surgery and now, unfortunately, I’ve broken it again. The screw is still in, but it’s still broken.“
”At the moment, I’m doing quite well with painkillers, but of course it hurt a lot,” says the Tyrolean, describing how he feels after the fall. The accident happened at very low speed in a left-hand bend.
Ebster reports: “Unfortunately, I had a stupid crash in the left-hand bend. It wasn’t fast at all. It was a change of direction, there was a left-hand bend and the ground was sandy camel grass. We had to turn left into a valley and there was a stone slab right there.”
“I looked down to see if I had the right cap. Then a rock knocked my front wheel away and I was lying on the ground. It wasn’t fast. The airbag didn’t even go off.”
“If there are recordings, you have to play them back at double or triple speed to make it look dramatic.” The 28-year-old estimates his speed at the time of the crash to have been “25 to 30 km/h.”
“I immediately noticed that something was wrong with my hand. I wanted to continue riding, but unfortunately I didn’t have the strength to lift the motorcycle.” Since he couldn’t do that, he waved to the helicopter that happened to be circling above the spot.
Ebster has to return home
Ebster also knew immediately that the Dakar was over for him: “Unfortunately. Since I had already broken my scaphoid bone twice, I knew right away when I tried to lift the motorcycle. When I couldn’t do it, I knew immediately what was wrong.”
He will start his journey home on Tuesday. “I’m flying to Dubai today and tomorrow morning to Munich, where I will land at 12:30 p.m. Then I’ll head straight to Innsbruck to the hospital to see my doctor, who operated on me last time.”
“I hope he can schedule me in right away. Of course, everything is still very, very spontaneous. It’s a holiday at home now. I’m glad that the flight home was organized so quickly.” Ebster knows from painful experience what to expect in the coming weeks.
The Austrian suffered his first fracture of the left scaphoid bone on November 11, 2023. Nevertheless, he was able to compete in the Dakar Rally for the first time the following January and win the “Malle Moto” classification.
Big blow for Tobias Ebster
After a fall at km 14, the Rally 2 runner-up injured his left hand and won’t finish today’s stage.
Rules allow him to restart tomorrow if fit.
You’ll come back stronger @tobias_ebster96 Dakar2026 DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/DCQlhR9wcs— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 6, 2026
About six months later, in May 2024, Ebster broke his left scaphoid bone again during the Hellas Rally in Greece. The recovery time for this second injury took around two and a half months.
“That’s why I’m very confident that I’ll be able to compete again in Portugal,” he says, looking ahead to the second round of the Rally Raid World Championship, which will take place from March 17 to 22.
“Of course, I will try to do everything I can to be there at the start. But if it’s not possible, then it would simply be an unnecessary risk to take. After all, there are still three more World Championship races to come.”
“Of course, there are double points at the Dakar. That means I’m leaving a lot of points on the table. And you just have to weigh up how to proceed. The team and I will, of course, do everything in our power to be at the start in Portugal.” Ebsters’ original goal for the season was to win the Rally2 classification in the W2RC.
