De Mevius Wins Stage 1 of 2026 Dakar Rally

Belgian driver Guillaume de Mevius claimed an unexpected victory in the first full stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally on Sunday, edging out five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah by 40 seconds in a 305-kilometer loop around the Saudi Arabian port city of Yanbu. The win marked a strong opening to the 48th edition of the grueling endurance race, which began with a prologue the previous day and features 12 stages across Saudi Arabia.

The rally kicked off on Saturday with a 22-kilometer timed prologue on a 95-kilometer route near Yanbu, where Sweden's Mattias Ekström set the pace for the car category in his V8-powered Ford Raptor, finishing in 10 minutes and 48.7 seconds. American teammate Mitch Guthrie trailed by eight seconds to secure a one-two finish for Ford in its second factory outing at the event. De Mevius placed third in his Mini X-Raid, just 0.2 seconds behind Guthrie, while Al-Attiyah followed in fourth for the Dacia Sandriders team. Factory Toyota driver Seth Quintero took fifth, with defending champion Yazeed Al Rajhi of Saudi Arabia in sixth, both 14 seconds off Ekström's time. Polish driver Eryk Goczal matched their pace in seventh, ahead of rally veteran Carlos Sainz Sr....