[{"id":14759,"permalink":"https:\/\/dirtsportsworld.com\/2026\/01\/04\/dakar-rally-stage-1-de-mevius-claims-early-lead\/","title":"DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1: De M\u00e9vius Claims Early Lead","content":"The 48th Dakar Rally roared into life Sunday with an action-packed first full stage that delivered a mix of surprise victories, early championship pressures and historic performances in Saudi Arabia. Stage One was a 305-kilometer loop around Yanbu featuring rocky trails and sandy dunes that tested both machines and riders in scorching conditions.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_14761\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"792\"]\"\" Guillaume de M\u00e9vius secured a Stage 1 win in his X-Raid Mini. Photo: X-Raid[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn the car class, Belgian driver Guillaume de M\u00e9vius seized the stage win in his X-raid Mini, overtaking early leader Mattias Ekstr\u00f6m and holding off a strong challenge from five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. Defending champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi suffered a major setback, picking up significant penalties for missing a waypoint and speeding, leaving him nearly 29 minutes behind the stage leader.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_14763\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"640\"]\"\" Edgar Canet is the youngest rider to win a Dakar stage on two-wheels. Photo: KTM[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOn two wheels, 20-year-old Edgar Canet continued his sensational start by winning the motorcycle category\u2019s Stage 1. The KTM rider, is already the youngest ever Dakar stage winner after clinching a win in the prologue. Canet extended his advantage ahead of teammate Daniel Sanders and Honda\u2019s Ricky Brabec.\r\nIn the SSV class, Xavier de Soultrait emerged victorious, topping the leaderboard with a strong effort that put him ahead of his rivals by several minutes at the end of the grueling Stage 1. Polaris dominated the top positions, with Portuguese driver Alexandre Pinto finishing second, just 3 minutes 34 seconds behind de Soultrait, and American competitor Brock Heger taking third at +3 minutes 48 seconds.","excerpt":"

The 48th Dakar Rally roared into life Sunday with an action-packed first full stage that delivered a mix of surprise …<\/p>","date":"January 4, 2026 20:26","categories":[{"id":25047612,"title":"News","slug":"news"},{"id":25047953,"title":"Rally","slug":"rally"}],"tags":[{"id":25047642,"title":"Dakar Rally","slug":"dakar-rally"},{"id":25048585,"title":"daniel sanders","slug":"daniel-sanders"},{"id":25049828,"title":"Edgar Canet","slug":"edgar-canet"},{"id":25049085,"title":"guillaume de mevius","slug":"guillaume-de-mevius"},{"id":25047641,"title":"Ricky Brabec","slug":"ricky-brabec"},{"id":25047646,"title":"saudi arabia","slug":"saudi-arabia"},{"id":25049487,"title":"Xavier de Soultrait","slug":"xavier-de-soultrait"},{"id":25049826,"title":"Yanbu","slug":"yanbu"}]},{"id":14742,"permalink":"https:\/\/dirtsportsworld.com\/2026\/01\/03\/2026-dakar-rally-underway-with-prologue\/","title":"2026 Dakar Rally Underway with Prologue","content":"Opening day for the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia began with the much-anticipated prologue. The Rally began at Yanbu with a 41km liason before reaching the 22km timed prologue stage. Terrain included a loop with high speeds and rock-littered tracks. Stage 1 of the Rally will begin from Yanbu early Sunday morning. Terrain will include sandy dunes and plenty of rocky terrain. It finishes fifteen days later along the Red Sea.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_14744\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"800\"]\"\" Ricky Brabec has two overall Dakar Rally wins and is looking for a third this year. Photo: Monster Energy Honda HRC[\/caption]\r\n\r\nRicky Brabec has won the Rally twice and is looking for a third overall win. Brabec finished Saturday\u2019s Prologue in third place putting the Honda HRC team on the map. Skyler Howes is also riding for the Honda HRC team. Howes finished eighth in the Prologue. Spain\u2019s Edgar Canet won the day for the KTM Factory Racing team.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_14745\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"640\"]\"\" Rising star Seth Quintero, who earned his first W2RC podium finish and a top-10 result at the 2025 Dakar, will drive the #203 Hilux with navigator Andrew Short. Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSeth Quintero is also at the Dakar Rally competing with the Toyota Gazoo racing team. \u00a0\u201cI feel confident, motivated and ready to race. I have a different feeling just because of the work TGR W2RC has put into the car and into me. I\u2019m very excited to get behind the wheel of the new DKR GR Hilux and explore new possibilities. I\u2019ve already seen the speed from testing, and it is confidence inspiring. We\u2019ve got an amazing team with amazing team-mates. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be fighting with each other at the front, but we are good friends, so it\u2019s going to be fun,\u201d said Quintero.\u00a0 Quintero will race across 5,000 miles of Saudi Arabia\u2019s most grueling terrain.","excerpt":"

Opening day for the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia began with the much-anticipated prologue. The Rally began at Yanbu …<\/p>","date":"January 3, 2026 11:45","categories":[{"id":25047612,"title":"News","slug":"news"},{"id":25047953,"title":"Rally","slug":"rally"}],"tags":[{"id":25049825,"title":"2026 Dakar Rally","slug":"2026-dakar-rally"},{"id":25047642,"title":"Dakar Rally","slug":"dakar-rally"},{"id":25049827,"title":"Monster Energy Honda HRC","slug":"monster-energy-honda-hrc"},{"id":25047641,"title":"Ricky Brabec","slug":"ricky-brabec"},{"id":25047646,"title":"saudi arabia","slug":"saudi-arabia"},{"id":25047961,"title":"seth quintero","slug":"seth-quintero"},{"id":25047967,"title":"skyler howes","slug":"skyler-howes"},{"id":25049066,"title":"Toyota Hilux","slug":"toyota-hilux"},{"id":25049826,"title":"Yanbu","slug":"yanbu"}]}]{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "user_comment": "This feed allows you to read the posts from this site in any feed reader that supports the JSON Feed format. To add this feed to your reader, copy the following URL -- https://dirtsportsworld.com/tag/yanbu/feed/json/ -- and add it your reader.", "home_page_url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/tag/yanbu/", "feed_url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/tag/yanbu/feed/json/", "language": "en-US", "title": "Yanbu Archives - DirtSportsWorld", "description": "The Voice of Off-Road Motorsports", "icon": "https://i0.wp.com/dirtsportsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/cropped-DSW-Web-Icon.png?fit=59%2C59&ssl=1", "items": [ { "id": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/?p=14759", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/2026/01/04/dakar-rally-stage-1-de-mevius-claims-early-lead/", "title": "DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1: De M\u00e9vius Claims Early Lead", "content_html": "

The 48th Dakar Rally roared into life Sunday with an action-packed first full stage that delivered a mix of surprise …

The post DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1: De M\u00e9vius Claims Early Lead appeared first on DirtSportsWorld.

\n", "content_text": "The 48th Dakar Rally roared into life Sunday with an action-packed first full stage that delivered a mix of surprise …The post DAKAR RALLY STAGE 1: De M\u00e9vius Claims Early Lead appeared first on DirtSportsWorld.", "date_published": "2026-01-04T20:26:41-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-01-04T20:26:41-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "DirtSportsWorld Staff", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/author/dirtsportsworld/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4817be88e351e2814fd215f4b782a136e8119efccfc1eafde273c56619cf08f5?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "DirtSportsWorld Staff", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/author/dirtsportsworld/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4817be88e351e2814fd215f4b782a136e8119efccfc1eafde273c56619cf08f5?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "tags": [ "Dakar Rally", "daniel sanders", "Edgar Canet", "guillaume de mevius", "Ricky Brabec", "saudi arabia", "Xavier de Soultrait", "Yanbu", "News", "Rally" ] }, { "id": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/?p=14742", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/2026/01/03/2026-dakar-rally-underway-with-prologue/", "title": "2026 Dakar Rally Underway with Prologue", "content_html": "

Opening day for the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia began with the much-anticipated prologue. The Rally began at Yanbu …

The post 2026 Dakar Rally Underway with Prologue appeared first on DirtSportsWorld.

\n", "content_text": "Opening day for the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia began with the much-anticipated prologue. The Rally began at Yanbu …The post 2026 Dakar Rally Underway with Prologue appeared first on DirtSportsWorld.", "date_published": "2026-01-03T11:45:02-08:00", "date_modified": "2026-01-03T11:45:02-08:00", "authors": [ { "name": "DirtSportsWorld Staff", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/author/dirtsportsworld/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4817be88e351e2814fd215f4b782a136e8119efccfc1eafde273c56619cf08f5?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "DirtSportsWorld Staff", "url": "https://dirtsportsworld.com/author/dirtsportsworld/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4817be88e351e2814fd215f4b782a136e8119efccfc1eafde273c56619cf08f5?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "tags": [ "2026 Dakar Rally", "Dakar Rally", "Monster Energy Honda HRC", "Ricky Brabec", "saudi arabia", "seth quintero", "skyler howes", "Toyota Hilux", "Yanbu", "News", "Rally" ] } ] }