Hail | BETH

Stage five of the Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2026 got underway on Thursday, January 8, marking the second part of the marathon stage, starting from the marathon bivouac and finishing in Hail, over a total distance of 427 km, including 371 km of timed special stage.

In the cars category, American driver Mitch Guthrie of Ford Racing claimed first place with a time of 3h 54m 46s, finishing 1m 06s ahead of his Spanish teammate Nani Roma, while Czech driver Martin Prokop (Orlen Jipocar) took third, 2m 14s behind the leader.

In the overall standings after stage five, South African Henk Lategan of Toyota Gazoo Racing retained the lead in the cars category with a cumulative time of 20h 36m 44s, ahead of Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders) by 3m 17s, while Sweden’s Mattias Ekström (Ford Racing) sits third, 5m 38s off the lead.

In the Stock Cars category, Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška (Defender Rally) secured first place with a time of 4h 29m 32s, narrowly ahead of France’s Stéphane Peterhansel, while American Sara Price finished third.

In the Motorcycles category, Argentina’s Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM) topped the stage in 4h 05m 16s, followed by Chilean Ignacio Cornejo (Hero Motosports), with Australia’s Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM) finishing third.

Chile’s Lucas del Río (BBR Motorsport) won stage five in the Challenger category, while Saudi driver Dania Akeel maintained an impressive third place, highlighting her strong performance in the class.

In the SSV category, American Kyle Chaney (Can-Am Factory Team) claimed victory, while Czech driver Martin Macík continued his dominance in the Trucks category with another stage win.

Competitors will resume action on Friday, January 9, with stage six running from Hail to Riyadh, covering a total distance of 920 km, including 331 km of special stage.