Dakar 2026, Stage 2: Toyota scores 1-2-3-4-5 but Al-Attiyah takes overall lead

Toyota was dominant in Stage 2 of Dakar as Ford and Mini fail to break inside the top 10

Seth Quintero led a top-five lockout for Toyota in the second stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally, while Dacia’s Nasser Al-Attiyah leaped to the top spot in the overall standings.

While Toyota struggled at the start of the 48th edition of Dakar in Yanbu, it bounced back strongly in Monday’s 400km test to Al-Ula, with the Japanese manufacturer’s Hilux pick-up emerging as the class of the field.

Both Toyota’s South African arm and its World Rally-Raid squad remained in front throughout the day, with Saood Variawa leading the first 100km before Quintero took over the mantle at the fourth checkpoint at 143km.

Variawa remained in striking distance for the next phase of the stage, but eventually dropped seven minutes behind, giving Quintero a clear run to the finish. The American took the flag with a winning margin of 1m42s, scoring just his third career stage win in Dakar’s Ultimate category.

With Variawa falling behind, last year’s runner-up Henk Lategan grabbed second place at the penultimate checkpoint, before consolidating his position in the dash to the finish line.

Meanwhile, defending champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi mounted a strong comeback after a disastrous opening stage in which he lost nearly 30 minutes due to a mix of errors and penalties, guiding his Overdrive-run Toyota to third place.

Two-time bikes winner Toby Price completed a 1-2-4 for Toyota’s W2RC team, beating Joao Ferreira in the best of Toyota South Africa entries. Ferreira was among several drivers to suffer punctures during a tough second stage in Saudi Arabia.

The fastest non-Toyota driver on Monday was nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb, who finished a solid sixth in his Dacia Sandrider, six minutes behind winner Quintero.

Loeb was closely followed by team-mate Al-Attiyah, who lost time a third of the way into the stage before recovering to sixth position. 

The final three positions inside the top 10 were occupied by more Toyota runners, with father-son duo Michal Goczal and Eryk Goczal finishing eighth and 10th respectively for Energylandia. Variawa was sandwiched between the two after his late drop in pace.

Stage 1 victor Guillaume de Mevius could finish no higher than 11th in his X-raid Mini, conceding more than eight minutes to the leaders.

Ford also endured a low-key day in Dakar, with Prologue victor Mattias Ekstrom dropping more than nine minutes to finish 12th and rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr managing only 14th place.

In the overall standings, it’s Al-Attiyah who heads the stable after two solid if unspectacular outings near the Gulf Sea. The Qatari driver holds a slim seven-second advantage over Monday’s winner Quintero, who largely recovered from a tough opening stage on Sunday in which he finished 18th after a two-minute speeding penalty.

Mini’s de Mevius dropped to third in the ranking but only 1m09s behind Al-Attiyah, with Lategan a further 19s back in fourth. 

Loeb made it two Dacia drivers inside the top five, followed by Toyota duo Ferreira and Price.

The top Ford driver in the standings is Ekstrom in eighth, 4m04s off the lead, while Variawa and Sainz complete the top 10.

Dakar Rally - Overall results after Stage 2:

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- The Autosport.com Team

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