Peter Lyon
January 18, 2026
The results are in. The Dacia Sandriders has won the 48th Dakar Rally, the toughest test of car and crew in motorsport, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin claiming an impressive victory by almost 10 minutes.
That is an outstanding achievement in only its second participation on the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship event, Dacia’s famed expertise of designing and building robust and outdoor ready vehicles has been recognised once again.
The Dacia Sandriders had further reason to celebrate as its other three crews all reached the finish this afternoon.
Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger returned to the final bivouac on the banks of the Red Sea in fourth position, as Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz completed their first Dakar Rally with the team in seventh place. Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno took 11th overall, having started the final stage in 12th.
During 13 days of intense and gruelling competition over a total distance of 7,976 kilometres, including 4,809 against the clock, The Dacia Sandriders claimed two stage victories and only slipped outside the top three overall positions on one occasion.
Its success on the hugely challenging Saudi Arabian stages – a mix of undulating rock-strewn tracks, sand dunes, fast open sections and more – was not only down to the performance of its drivers and navigators. The Dacia designed Sandrider, alongside the hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment of all of its team members, partners and suppliers played a key role.
Katrin Adt, Dacia CEO, said: “We did it! What an achievement, what an adventure, what a performance! Today is a historic moment and the proudest moment for the whole Dacia brand. It is the result of so much hard work by so many talented people, and it shows that The Dacia Sandrider, like our road cars, is reliable and robust.
“All the team members deserve this result, and they should be so incredibly proud for what they have done, achieving victory so early on in Dacia’s Dakar journey.”
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Nasser Al-Attiyah has now won the Dakar Rally on six occasions, including three times in Saudi Arabia – its home since 2020 – his previous triumphs coming in 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023. For Fabian Lurquin, the victory was his first on the event and the first in the car category by a Belgian navigator. Lurquin had three Dakar Rally podiums on his CV prior to this year’s contest, having finished second in 2022 and 2025 and third in 2024.
