KTM rider Luciano Benavides edged out Honda rival Ricky Brabec by just two seconds to claim a sensational Dakar Rally victory on the final day.
Following a largely one-sided 2025 edition won by Daniel Sanders, the motorcycle category returned to its usual intensity this year, with several riders remaining firmly in contention throughout the two-week marathon in Saudi Arabia.
Although changes to the roadbook and the route have increasingly turned Dakar into a sprint rather than a pure endurance contest, it was consistency that ultimately led to Benavides and Brabec emerging as the leading protagonists in the fight for victory.
At KTM, Edgar Canet and Daniel Sanders stole the early headlines, with Benavides having to wait until the fifth stage for a first win. It was only the following stage, meanwhile, that Brabec claimed his first victory of the 2026 edition, but even that result was attributed to Sanders dropping from first to third with a hefty six-minute overspeeding penalty.
The rally first swung decidedly in Brabec’s favour on Stage 10 when Sanders crashed in the dunes, propelling him to the head of the overall standings. At this point, Brabec faced a renewed challenge from Benavides, who picked up the baton for KTM after Sanders’s misfortune and briefly climbed to the top spot in the overall standings.
But the 34-year-old adopted a tactical approach on Stage 11, deliberately easing his pace late in the day to secure a more favourable starting position for Stage 12, the final full-distance test of the rally.
Dominating the 311km special to Yanbu, Brabec overturned what was a 23s deficit into a comfortable 3m20s buffer heading into the final test of the event, a short 105km around the same port city. However, just seven kilometres from the finish on Saturday, Brabec made a rare navigation error and tumbled down the order, eventually ending the stage in ninth position.
Benavides needed no second invitation to seize the opportunity, finishing second behind team-mate Canet to snatch the overall victory from Brabec’s grasp. Just two seconds separated the pair after 13 stages across the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
The result marked Benavides’ first Dakar win in nine attempts and KTM’s 21st victory in the event’s history. It also ensured that both Benavides brothers have now won Dakar, following Kevin Benavides’ successes in 2021 and 2023 with the Austrian manufacturer.
The late reversal of fortunes denied Brabec a third Dakar crown, as well as what would have been Honda’s ninth victory in the world’s most prestigious cross-country rally.
The final spot on the podium went to Tosha Schareina, who began the 2026 Dakar as Honda’s leading hope but dropped down the order following a series of setbacks.
The Spaniard had emerged as a serious contender for outright victory after he dominated Stage 4 despite opening the road. But just the following day, he was hit with a 10-minute penalty for “not making the mandatory passage between the two flags that marked the start”. Unforced errors on Stage 7 further ended his victory hopes, but third place marked his second consecutive podium in Dakar.
Schareina’s team-mate Skyler Howes scored one stage win late in the rally to climb to fourth in the final order. His victory hopes were undone on Stage 5 when he dropped over 20 minutes.
Reigning champion Sanders eventually had to settle for fifth place, having led much of the rally before disaster struck on Wednesday. The Australian held a comfortable six-minute margin when he started the test between Al Henakiyah and Bisha, but about a third of the way into the special he suffered an accident on the dunes, snapping his left collarbone in the process.
Remarkably, Sanders not only reached the finish of Stage 10, but also nursed his injury over the next three days to secure a classified finish in Dakar 2026.
Behind him, Adrien van Beveren finished sixth for Honda after topping the very stage that ended Sanders’ victory challenge.
Two Hero riders finished inside the top 10, with Ignacio Cornejo leading Ross Branch in seventh and eighth respectively. The Indian manufacturer failed to register an individual stage win, but Cornejo finished a strong second on Stage 5 behind Benavides. Branch, meanwhile, provisionally won the opening stage before being relegated due to a speeding penalty, and later lost further time due to tyre damage on Stage 5. KTM privateer Toni Mulec and Honda’s Preston Campbell finished ninth and 10th respectively.
The 2026 Dakar also saw KTM sophomore Canet cement his status as one of cross-country rallying’s brightest young prospects. Only 20 years old, Canet opened his campaign with back-to-back wins in Prologue and Stage 1, becoming the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.
Although mistakes over the following days halted his momentum, Canet remained in contention until he hit a rock at the start of Stage 5 and damaged his rear tyre.
The Spaniard lost over four hours repairing and bringing his hobbled bike to the finish, and was later slapped with a six-hour penalty for receiving a spare tyre from his team, with rules prohibiting any external assistance during the marathon stages. Canet nevertheless completed the rally on a high by claiming his maiden Dakar stage victory on the final day.
Dakar Rally 2026 motorcycle results
| Pos | Rider | Manufacturer | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luciano Benavides | KTM | 49h00m41s |
| 2 | Ricky Brabec | Honda | +2s |
| 3 | Tosha Schareina | Honda | +25m12s |
| 4 | Skyler Howes | Honda | +56m41s |
| 5 | Daniel Sanders | KTM | +1h03m14s |
| 6 | Adrien van Beveren | Honda | +1h04m46s |
| 7 | Ignacio Cornejo | Hero | +1h39m50s |
| 8 | Ross Branch | Hero | +2h49m15s |
| 9 | Toni Mulec | KTM | +2h57m18s |
| 10 | Preston Campbell | Honda | +3h01m55s |
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