Dakar Rally 2026 Stage 3: Yasir Seaidan Takes Challenger Lead As Al-Attiyah Drops To 10th

The third stage of the Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2026 saw major changes in the standings, as American driver Mitch Guthrie moved into the overall lead in the car category after winning the stage, which strengthened Ford Racing’s position early in the event.

The rally is being organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, under the supervision of the Ministry of Sport, and runs until 17 January, with Tuesday’s third stage covering a total of 736 kilometres, including 421 kilometres of timed special sections.

In the car stage classification, Mitch Guthrie secured first place for Ford Racing with a time of four hours, four minutes, and 32 seconds, finishing ahead of Czech competitor Martin Prokop from Orlen Jipocar Team by two minutes and 27 seconds, while South African driver Guy Botterill of Toyota Gazoo Racing came third, five minutes and 23 seconds behind.

The overall car rankings after stage three now show Guthrie leading with a combined time of 11 hours, 27 minutes, and 20 seconds, with Prokop trailing by just 26 seconds, while Swedish driver Mattias Ekström, also representing Ford Racing, holds third place, one minute and eight seconds off the lead, as Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah slips to tenth position, 11 minutes and 39 seconds behind.

In the Challenger class, Dutch driver Puck Klaassen of KTM X-BOW powered by G Rally Team won the third stage in four hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds, followed by Saudi driver Yasir Seaidan from Nasser Racing Team, who finished eight minutes and 25 seconds back but took over the overall category lead, with Spaniard Pau Navarro of Odyssey Academy by BBR claiming third on the day, 11 minutes and 18 seconds behind.

The results of the third stage highlighted strong performances from international and Saudi competitors across both main categories, setting up close battles for the remaining days of Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2026, which continues across the Kingdom’s terrains until 17 January under national sporting oversight.

With inputs from SPA