Summarize

Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori and Loïc Minaudier utterly dominated the tenth stage of Dakar 2026 aboard their South African built Century Factory CR-7. On another day that saw the leaderboard chop and change, Nasser Al Attiyah enjoyed a relatively untroubled day to second to return to the overall lead from South African Henk Lategan, while Ford trio Nani Roma, Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekstrom dropped down the order.

Starting fourteenth, Qatari five-time Dakar winner Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin’s Dacia initially led Serradori and Minaudier and German factory Ford Raptor men Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist. Ekström was in front at the next waypoint from Serradori and Brazilian Lucas Moraes and Dennis Zenz’s Sandrider as Attiyah slipped into the chasing bunch. Serradori and Minaudier then blasted ahead in their relative minnow Century. 

Unlike on previous days, the French crew increased their initial advantage all the way to storm home a most impressive 6 minutes and 12 seconds clear of Al Attiyah. But behind them, it was drama all the way. First Ekström ground to a halt with a mechanical issue before limping on. At the same time, Al Attiyah swept past Roma to lead the virtual standings, with South Africans, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Overdrive Hilux up to second overall.

By mid-distance, Serradori led Attiyah, Moraes, and Lategan on the road. Lategan passed Moraes and closed down on Nasser but later slipped back. Up front, Serradori stormed home to a mammoth victory over Dacia Sandrider trio, Al Attiyah, resurgent French nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger, and Moraes and Zenz.

South African Toyota drivers, SVR crew Guy Botterill, and Spaniard Oriol Mena in sixth from another Kyrgyzstani independent Ford Raptor crew Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, who pipped and Lategan and Cummings in eighth. South African Champion Saood Variawa and Frenchman Francois Cazalet’s SVR Hilux were 15th, while Ekstrom came home 22nd and SA crew Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer Century Factory CR-7 provisionally 40th. 

Overall, Nasser Al Attiyah leads Henk Lategan’s Toyota by a relatively comfy 12 minutes. Ninth on the day, Nani Roma’s Ford Raptor sits just 50 seconds further back in third, ten minutes clear of Sebastien Loeb, and incredibly Mattheu Serradori’s Century another ten adrift on fifth. A splendid effort by the small South African team. Ekstrom and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz drop to sixth and seventh, while South Africans, Variawa lies tenth, Botterill eleventh and Baragwanath 17th.

Elsewhere Dutch driver Paul Sperings took his second T3 Challenger win on the trot with Yasir Seidan in a healthy class lead, while Brock Heger further consolidated his T4 SSV advantage with another win. Rockas Baciuska headed another Defender 1-2-3 in Stock to open his lead there, and  Ales Loprais headed Iveco teammate and overall leader Vitor Zala to the Truck day.

Three days and just shy of 800 km of racing remain of Dakar 2026, starting with Thursday’s 347 km ride to Al Henakiyah. Your Dakar Car Report is powered by Toyota Gazoo Racing. Click here for the Dakar Bike report.