Key points - FIM:
"I've never won this race before", pointed out Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) before the start of the 2026 Desafío Ruta 40 YPF. Six days later, "Chucky" has added his name to the annals of the Argentinian rally, the only event on the current W2RC calendar that was missing from his trophy cabinet. He could have settled for crossing the finish line safely today, but he chose to fight for the fifth and final stage win in San Juan, his fourth of the week. Two months after claiming the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, Sanders now stands atop the Argentinian podium with the Honda factory riders Tosha Schareina (+12′09″) and Ricky Brabec (+18′04″) at his side.
Fourth on home roads (+22′38″), Luciano Benavides has surrendered the championship lead to his teammate Sanders (see A crushing blow). The man on motorbike no. 1 finds himself in the top spot for the first time in 2026. His ambition? To become the first rider to successfully defend his RallyGP crown. Yet, with the top 4 just 13 points apart (see Rankings), the battle for the title rages on! The same goes for the duel between KTM and Honda, separated by only 5 points in the manufacturers' ranking.
Monster Energy Honda HRC got their first taste of glory this season in Rally2. Martim Ventura picked up four stage wins —including today— en route to taking his maiden win. His teammate Bruno Crivilin (+8′35″) finished an impressive second in his W2RC debut. Despite coming in third overall as the top-ranked privateer (+15′35″), Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM) lost the championship lead to Ventura by 4 points. Murun Purevdorj (Xraids Experience) rocketed to the top of the Rally3 ranking thanks to his victory in Argentina. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder) cemented his lead in the quad ranking, but it was the local star Lucas Domínguez (LD Racing) that won the rally.
Key points - FIA:
"I've already finished on the overall podium of several Ultimate races, but I've been missing that element of luck you need to win", explained Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) ahead of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF. The 23-year-old Californian surfed the wave of success in San Juan, taking his first Ultimate victory at the end of a race in which he proved to be wise beyond his years (see Performance of the day). The wheel —or rather tyre— of fortune spun his way as his duel with the three-time world champion Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) was decided in a frantic dash to the line. It looked like the Qatari had it in the bag when a puncture 87 km from the line forced him to stop and swap out a wheel. By the time he had got up and running again, he was caught up in the dust of his teammate Sébastien Loeb. In the end, Quintero stormed to glory by 1′55″ over the stage winner, Henk Lategan, and 2′26″ over Al Attiyah. Toyota racked up another victory in Argentina (6) and scored their first 1-2 of the season thanks to Quintero and Lategan.
Loeb finished just outside the podium (+3′54″), like in the Dakar, two months after winning the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The Frenchman remains the championship leader, but by a shrunken margin of 3 points over Al Attiyah and 13 over Quintero. Nani Roma is the first Ford Racing driver in fourth place. The Dacia Sandriders saw their 2026 hegemony come to an end but will find solace in the fact that they continue to dominate the riders and manufacturers' world championships (see Rankings).
Stéphane Peterhansel (Defender) continued to pick up momentum in Stock, following up his victory in Portugal with another one in Argentina, but it was not enough to dislodge his teammate Rokas Baciuška from the championship lead. Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally) clinched the Challenger trophy ahead of Puck Klaassen (KTM X-Bow powered by G Rally), the new championship leader (see Stat of the day). Jeremías González Ferioli (Can-Am Factory) landed a one-two punch, with his home win in Argentina propelling him to the pinnacle of the championship. Odyssey Academy by BBR continued to outmuscle the other Challenger teams, while Can-An Factory remained the no. 1 manufacturer in San Juan.
