Daniel Saunders remains at the top of the RallyGP category in the 2026 Dakar Rally, despite not securing a stage victory on Tuesday. On Stage 3 in AlUla, Saunders was the highest-placed KTM rider, finishing third behind the HRC team’s Tosha Chalayna, who won the stage, and Ricky Brabec in second.
Chalayna delivered an impressive performance, finishing the stage 2 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of Brabec and 3 minutes and 28 seconds ahead of Saunders. In the overall rankings, Brabec trails Saunders by 1 minute and 7 seconds, while Chalayna is in third place, just 6 seconds shy of the lead.
Early rally star Edgar Canet, who won both the prologue and the first stage, placed seventh on Stage 3. The Spanish rider, racing in Rally GP for the first time this year, currently holds fourth place overall, over eight minutes behind the leader.
Luciano Benavidez, another factory KTM competitor, achieved his best stage finish so far by coming in fourth and is now fifth overall, trailing Saunders by 11 minutes. The next two stages (4 and 5) will continue in AlUla and are part of the marathon segment, with distances of 451km and 351km respectively, the latter heading toward Hail.
In the Ultimate Car class, Ford’s Mitch Guthrie claimed his first-ever stage win and took the overall lead despite a 10-second penalty, holding a 26-second advantage over fellow Ford driver Martin Prokop. Even with penalties affecting Carlos Sainz and Matthias Ekström, both Fords remain dominant, occupying third to fifth places alongside Nani Roma.
Dacia, led by Lucas Moraes who is not in a Ford, currently sits in sixth place, over five minutes behind the leaders and more than a minute behind Roma. This represents a notable shift from earlier standings, which had Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) leading closely over Seth Quintero (Toyota) and Guillaume de Mobius (X-Raid).
At the close of Stage 2, Ekström was the highest-placed Ford in eighth, while Gasly dropped to 14th, 10 minutes behind. Stage 3 saw de Möbius suffer a puncture and Al-Attiyah lose 22 minutes, allowing Gasly to take the overall Dakar lead for the first time. Meanwhile, 2025 champion Yazeed Al-Razi finds himself 19th following a heavy penalty, nearly 30 minutes off the pace.
Fan Take: This intense competition among top riders and manufacturers highlights the ever-evolving drama of the Dakar Rally. For racing fans, the 2026 event could redefine the dominance of traditional teams and introduce fresh talents, potentially reshaping the future of off-road endurance racing.
