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Issue #3:January 6, 2026
The 2026 Dakar Rally left the starting location of Yanbu and headed inland toward AlUla. A 400 km SS (competition section) was held in the mountainous region. Car #501, with Akira Miura (Toyota Auto Body staff) and Jean-Michel Polato, ran into trouble with the brake assist mechanism during the stage, but managed to continue and finished 86th overall in the 4-wheel rankings and 4th in the Stock class. Car #503, with Ronald Basso and Julien Menard, followed 1 minute 52 seconds later, with an overall ranking of 88th and 5th in class.
With these results, the cumulative rankings after Stage 2 place car #501 in 89th overall in the 4-wheel vehicles and 2nd in the Stock class, while car #503 is 91st overall and 3rd in the class. The time gap to the lead Defender #502 with Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal, is just 11 minutes 37 seconds for car #501 and 12 minutes 00 seconds for car #503. The times are close, which means the rankings can quickly change with a single incident such as getting stuck in the sand or encountering other trouble. It’s going to be a tense battle in the stages ahead.
The SS started after a 104 km liaison (transfer section) inland from Yanbu. The route weaved through canyons in the mountainous land toward AlUla to the west, with the surface consisting mainly of rough wadis (dry riverbeds) with large stones. Just like the previous day, competitors had to be cautious to avoid punctures and vehicle damage. The numerous narrow paths also made overtaking difficult for 4-wheel vehicles, and between the 306 km and 318 km points, the bike and car routes were separated.
Partway through the liaison, Miura and Polato in car # 501 ran into some trouble when they lost their brake assist. Although the brakes still worked, they required significantly more pedal force, making it harder to avoid stones and bumpy sections of terrain during the SS. In addition, they suffered a total of three punctures, possibly a consequence of these issues. However, at the service area between the 142 km and 144 km points, the team was able to supply spare tires, allowing them to push through and complete the stage safely.
Meanwhile, car #503 with Basso and Menard suffered one puncture and a warning light indicating an electrical system component charging issue, but it did not affect drivability. They maintained a cautious pace and made it to the finish line in AlUla.
Stage 3 on January 6 will be a 421 km loop course from AlUla.
(Provisional rankings as of 3:00 AM Japan time)
Miura (driver): Running a 400 km SS with heavy brakes was hard work. It was difficult to quickly decelerate, and there were times when avoiding rocks felt dangerous. We also had three punctures, but getting spare tires at the service point saved us. I was relieved to make it to the finish.
Basso (driver): It was a long SS, but I’m doing OK. The car is running well, but when the warning light came on for an electrical system component, I was nervous the engine might stop. Fortunately, nothing happened, and after that we only had a puncture on the front right wheel. It was a relatively smooth day.