ET.13 | Luciano Benavides and Nasser Al Attiyah want their crowns back

Key points:
• The opening round, which took place from 3 to 18 January during the 48th edition of the Dakar, came to a close last weekend in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
• The motorbike race saw Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a thrilling finale, vaulting past Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) within sight of the line.
• Another KTM took top honours in Rally2. Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM) outpaced Preston Campbell and Martim Ventura, the two young recruits of Monster Energy Honda HRC.
• KTM are a single point ahead of Honda in the manufacturers' ranking. However, Red Squadron has reclaimed the advantage in the Rally2 Teams standings.
• Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders), the three-time world champion who lost his throne in the dying minutes of the 2025 season, has set a victorious course again. The Qatari weighed anchor for Portugal as the championship leader following his sixth Dakar title. Mattias Ekström and Nani Roma have put their Ford Raptors on the championship podium.
• Marek Goczał (Energylandia Rally) has taken the early lead in the newly established Masters classification for amateur drivers over 50.
• In the Stock class, the inaugural showdown between the new Defenders and the Toyota Auto Body Land Cruisers went the way of the newcomers, with Rokas Baciuška coming out on top.
• In Challenger, Pau Navarro (Odyssey Academy by BBR) claimed his maiden Dakar win. Kyle Chaney (Can-Am Factory) was the standout performer in the SSV class. Odyssey Academy by BBR drew first blood in the Teams ranking.
• Next up is the third edition of the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal from 17 to 22 March, starting in Grândola and featuring a brand-new finish in Loulé, in the Algarve.

RALLYGP: THE RETURN OF THE 2023 WORLD CHAMPION

The 48th edition of the Dakar will go down in history for the Hollywood-style finish between Ricky Brabec and Luciano Benavides. It was a horror film for the American, who headed into the final special with a 3′20″ lead over the Argentinian starting right behind him. A navigation error by the Californian opener inside the final 10 km allowed the younger Benavides brother to be the first to cross the line after two weeks of racing. The 2023 world champion, who had sustained an injury in the 2025 Rallye du Maroc, took the win by 2 seconds, the narrowest margin in Dakar history! He finished ahead of two other Honda riders, Tosha Schareina and Skyler Howes. The reigning world champion, Daniel Sanders, who suffered a crash three days before the finish, had to settle for fifth place.
All nine RallyGP entries registered for the series reached the finish. Edgar Canet and his KTM brought up the rear behind the Hero machines of Nacho Cornejo and Ross Branch. They are all expected to line up for the European round in late March.
In the manufacturers' standings, KTM kick off the season with 55 points, one more than Honda.

RALLY2: A DEEPER SHADE OF ORANGE IN THE RED SEA

In Rally2, Toni Mulec followed the example of Luciano Benavides. Much like the Argentinian, the Slovenian had not started as the favourite, However, the 40-year-old put in a stellar performance in the second week, relentlessly hunting down Preston Campbell. The American had earlier capitalised on the misfortunes of the heavy hitters, such as last season's runner-up, Tobias Ebster (Hero MotoSports), who crashed out of the race, and the 2024 Dakar champion in this class, the Indian Harith Noah (Sherco TVS Rally Factory). Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM) also took a tumble but managed to stay in the rally. Knocked out of contention by a mechanical problem, just like Neels Theric (Kove Factory), the South African blitzed his way around Saudi Arabia, scooping up 9 stage wins in 14 specials and bringing his class record to 37. The Honda rookies proved they will be a force to be reckoned with this season. Johnny Campbell's son and Martim Ventura (who will soon be on home turf in Portugal) both secured spots on the overall podium in their Dakar debuts.
Squadron Red has propelled the Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally2 outfit to the top of the Teams standings, with 54 points, leading the KTM satellite team by a single point.

ULTIMATE: AL ATTIYAH STAMPS HIS AUTHORITY ON THE SAND

Nasser Al Attiyah ended the 2025 season with a bitter pill to swallow after missing the final braking point of the year. The Qatari got the ball rolling on the fifth season with his sixth Dakar title, built on his dominance in the dunes of stage 6. The defending world champion, Lucas Moraes, now his teammate at Dacia, played a quiet game throughout the two weeks of racing, reflected in his seventh-place finish. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) emerged as the Qatari's primary challenger until a series of mechanicals in stage 11 proved fatal to his chances. The South African, the breakout star of the 2024 season, finished the opening round 21st, the worst performance of any favourite, after Yazeed Al Rajhi. The Saudi title holder and 2023–24 world championship runner-up threw in the towel early in the first week. Toby Price led the Toyota armada home, finishing eighth in the first Dakar he has completed on four wheels for the works team. The Japanese marque, a three-time world champion in the manufacturers' standings, has made an uncharacteristically slow start. Dacia (160 points) leads Ford (-33) and Toyota (-63) in the manufacturers' ranking.
The Ford Racing cars proved to be the most capable of upsetting Al Attiyah, Loeb and their Sandriders. Nani Roma and Mattias Ekström placed their Raptors on the Dakar podium ahead of the Frenchman. The Swede sits ahead of the Catalan in the championship, thanks in no small part to four special wins. Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 5, putting three Fords into the elite circle. The old-school stars have all made a flying start to the championship.