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Issue #14:January 17, 2026
On January 16, the 2026 Dakar Rally continued with a 311 km SS (special stage) running from Al Henakiyah in western Saudi Arabia to Yanbu. In the Stock class, TLC’s car #501, driven by Akira Miura with Jean‑Michel Polato, came to a stop around the 155 km point due to trouble in the engine’s oil system. Onsite repairs proved to be a challenge, and the team decided to withdraw from the day’s competition. Car #501 and its crew were towed out of the SS by an assistance truck and moved onto the liaison (transfer section) to head toward Yanbu.
Meanwhile, car #503 with Ronald Basso and Julien Menard had been progressing smoothly, but with around 100 km remaining, they once again encountered trouble with the steering system. With the heavy steering, the crew struggled to cross the dunes as intended, but still reached the finish in 134th overall and 4th in class. As a result of the steering issues, car #503 was unable to reach a GPS waypoint located deep within a dune section and received a 45‑minute time penalty. As a result, the cumulative rankings now place #503 89th overall in the 4‑wheel category, holding onto 3rd in the Stock class. The gap to second‑place Land Rover Defender #504 has widened to 4 hours 32 minutes 54 seconds.
Today’s SS (competition section) was the final major competitive stage over 300 km in this year’s rally. Starting in Al Henakiyah, it headed west past Madinah into mountainous terrain near the Red Sea coast. The early sections featured wide gravel tracks, soon followed by extremely soft dunes. The terrain alternated between increasingly rough and rocky terrain and dune areas. With competitors forced to drive on hard rocky ground while keeping low tire pressures suited for dune crossings, the stage posed high risks of punctures and hits to the underbody. These conditions are particularly harsh on Stock class vehicles.
Car #501 had again been following behind #503 to provide support but suffered two slow punctures (when a small hole or crack slowly leaks air from the tire) early in the stage. Later at around the 155 km point, both left front and rear tires punctured simultaneously, bringing the vehicle to a halt. At that time, trouble was found in the engine’s oil system, and the team decided not to continue.
Car #503, affected by recurring steering trouble, was unable to climb a large dune about 15 km before the finish. After several attempts, the crew took a long detour and successfully cleared the obstacle to reach the SS finish.
After completing the stage, crews traveled a 194 km liaison (transfer section) north along the Red Sea coastline to Yanbu, where the rally’s finish is located. The bivouac was set up on the outskirts in the same coastal area used at the start of the rally.
January 17 marks the final day of Dakar Rally 2026. Competitors will drive 105 km in the final SS near Yanbu and finish at the same bivouac. The closing ceremony will be held at the finish podium.
(Provisional rankings and times as of 6:00 AM Japan time on January 17th)
Miura (Driver): Our second day retirement is quite unfortunate. The SS was tougher than I expected, and puncturing four tires made things even more challenging. Managing tire pressures while keeping a pace that avoids punctures reminded me once again of just how demanding and unforgiving the Dakar Rally is.
Basso (Driver): Today’s steering trouble wasn’t intermittent; the steering remained heavy the entire time. Crossing dunes under those conditions was challenging. Until then, we just had one puncture, and things had been going well...