MORAES AND GUTIÉRREZ FLY HIGH FOR THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

The strong performances from defending world champion Moraes – with navigator Dennis Zenz by his side – and Gutiérrez, who is being navigated by Pablo Moreno, served as another notable plus for The Dacia Sandriders, which is contesting the Dakar Rally for only the second time.

With three of the Saudi Arabian event’s 13 stages run, Moraes/Zenz hold sixth position in the overall classification, one place ahead of Gutiérrez/Moreno. Had it not been for a punctured tyre, the Spaniards could have achieved a new personal best stage result. Instead, they came within 11 seconds of bettering their previous benchmark as they climbed from 15th to seventh overall.

But while it was a strong Stage 3 for Moraes/Zenz and Gutiérrez/Moreno, international motorsport’s toughest event hit hard for Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Lurquin and Sébastien Loeb/Édouard Boulanger.

The overnight leaders following their impressive efforts on the opening two stages, Al-Attiyah/Lurquin ran second on the road and enjoyed a promising start to the day only to suffer two damaged tyres at the 330-kilometre mark and drop to 10th overall.

Fifth overall starting Stage 3 and sixth in today’s provisional order following 41 kilometres of running, Loeb/Boulanger were forced to stop twice to change tyres in the opening 100 kilometres. Having used their supply of spare tyres and determined to avoid retiring for the day by picking up a further deflation, the Frenchmen adopted an ultra-cautious approach for the remainder of the stage, which Loeb reported driving at “20 per cent” in his efforts to complete the 421-kilometre timed route.

In addition to Moraes/Zenz joining its all-star line-up for 2026, The Dacia Sandriders has made several key upgrades to its event-winning Dacia Sandrider, which continues to be powered by sustainable fuel from Aramco and equipped with BFGoodrich tyres. The upgrades are focused on weight reduction, cooling efficiency, visibility, reliability and driver comfort. Meanwhile, a refreshed colour scheme, which includes more orange for a sharper look, was revealed ahead of the Dakar Rally.

Meanwhile, the challenge of the Dakar Rally intensifies tomorrow (Wednesday) when the event overnights at a bivouac refuge point, a remote overnight camp when only limited resources will be available. After covering a total distance of 530 kilometres, crews will pitch their own tents (a mattress and sleeping bag are also supplied) and prepare their meals from a box of rations.

The only technical back-up is provided by their fellow competitors, although there is no time limit for making any repairs.

KEY QUOTES

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

Today was a good day for us except the last 100 kilometres when we had two punctures in maybe 500 metres. Then we decide just to survive to the finish, but we did a good job. If we see the result of today, I’m really happy for tomorrow because of the road position. Tomorrow will be very hard for everyone.

CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

It was a good stage for us, we finished fifth, my best in the Ultimate class so we are super happy. The stage was not easy, we had a puncture and a slow puncture, but we managed. In the rocky sections we take care of the tyres but, finally, we did an amazing job because Pablo with the navigation was brilliant. It’s just Stage 3 but we need to enjoy and think for tomorrow because it will be super-difficult with the marathon format.

SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

It was a difficult stage. We just drive to try to avoid punctures all the time and I had two punctures after 100 kilometres, even if I was driving slow. After that I had to really slow down and go like 20 per cent of the performance just to finish the stage. It was just a question of surviving, not a question of going fast but finishing the stage, which is not what I enjoy. But we are here at the end so it’s not too bad.

LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

It was a crazy day again in Dakar. We all thought the rocks were behind us but, to be honest, I never saw so many rocks in my life. We were lucky with the road position, Cristina and I basically did the whole stage together and it was a really nice pace. We managed to keep it clean. Of course, it was important to catch back some time after yesterday but it’s still a long race and I hope we can keep going like this.

PABLO MORENO (SPAIN), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

It was a difficult day for the navigation, also for the tyres, but Cristina did an amazing job. We had one slow puncture at the beginning, but the tyre stood up. We had a flat tyre around the middle of the stage. It was really difficult for the navigation today but we did a good job.

DAKAR RALLY STAGE 3 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)

AlUla-AlUla

Stage distance: 421km Liaison distance: 315km Total distance: 736km

4th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), 4h10m18s

5th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 4h10m29s

19th Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h26m43s

24th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 4h29m57s

DAKAR RALLY PROVISIONAL ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 3 (UNOFFICIAL)

6th Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Dennis Zenz (GER), +5m16s

7th Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +5m59s

10th Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +11m39s

12th Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +16m50s

DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER

5: By finishing fifth on Stage 3, Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno equalled their previous best Dakar Rally stage finish.

THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 4, JANUARY 7

Although the AlUla landscape continues to provide a spectacular backdrop, with only an overnight camp and no technical assistance from team personnel, the focus switches to car preservation during the 2026 Dakar Rally’s first marathon stage. While the route runs through wide open spaces in the main, zigzag sections between the hills require frequent changes in pace.

Stage distance: 452km Liaison distance: 78km Total distance: 530km