- Daniel Sanders crashes on stage 10 with probable collarbone fracture
- Adrien van Beveren celebrates first stage victory at Dakar 2026
- Ricky Brabec takes overall lead after time credit
After the marathon night at the Refuge bivouac, the tenth stage of the Dakar Rally covered 368 kilometers through soft sand and extensive dunes to Bisha. The second half of the marathon stage demanded everything from the riders, both physically and mentally, and turned the previous rankings upside down.
Drama surrounding Daniel Sanders after serious crash
The focus of the day was on the previous Dakar leader Daniel Sanders. The Red Bull KTM rider crashed heavily at kilometer 140 after a dune. Several competitors, including Ricky Brabec and Tosha Schareina, stopped to help. Sanders was able to continue the stage, but lost a lot of time and significantly slowed down.
Shortly after the crash, his deficit grew rapidly. In the end, the Australian reached the finish line 27 minutes behind the stage winner. According to his own statement, he most likely suffered a broken left collarbone.
“It looks like a broken collarbone. We checked it at the refueling point.”
Despite the injury, Sanders is not thinking of giving up. A daily medical assessment will decide whether he can remain in the race.
Van Beveren returns with stage victory
While Sanders fell behind, another rider came into focus: Adrien van Beveren. The Honda rider, who had suffered several setbacks in the early days of the rally, took advantage of the dune sections to play to his strengths in the sand.
Van Beveren took the lead during the stage and gained valuable bonus time by opening up the route. In the end, he celebrated his first stage victory at the 2026 Dakar and the seventh of his career.
“The soft sand was cool. I could really make a difference, I enjoyed it and pushed hard.”
The Frenchman improved to sixth place in the overall standings, but remains out of the direct title fight, trailing by around 57 minutes.
Brabec takes advantage of the situation and takes the lead in Dakar
Ricky Brabec benefited from the chaos. The Honda factory rider rode flawlessly, helped Sanders after his crash, and received a time credit of 1:23 minutes for doing so. This proved to be decisive.
Brabec finished the stage in second place and took the overall lead in the 2026 Dakar Rally, albeit with only a 56-second lead over Luciano Benavides.
„My mindset is to stay positive, take it day by day, and keep fighting to the end.“
Close decision between Honda and KTM
Luciano Benavides also put in a strong performance. The KTM rider started in ninth place, took the lead at one point and finished third in the stage despite a mistake in the dunes. He is now only 56 seconds behind Brabec in the overall standings.
Skyler Howes also put in a consistent performance, finishing fourth and maintaining fifth place in the overall standings.
Rally2: Docherty wins, Campbell remains overall leader
Michael Docherty once again prevailed in the Rally2 category. The KTM rider won the stage and confirmed his strong form in the sand. Despite finishing sixth, Preston Campbell defended his overall lead, albeit with only a 3:23 minute advantage over Toni Mulec.
A look at stage 11
After the grueling marathon section, stage 11 covers a total of 883 kilometers from Bisha to Al Henakiyah. With a 537-kilometer liaison stage and a 346-kilometer special stage, maximum concentration is once again required. With three stages to go, everything is still up for grabs in both the RallyGP and Rally2 categories.
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