Brabec leads after penultimate Dakar Stage as Sand...

2026 Dakar Rally

Stage 12 – Al Henakiyah to Yanbu

Ricky Brabec and Honda HRC’s strategising paid off, because the American pulled off a 3m20s lead on foremost rival Luciano Benavides, to move into the ultimate stage, with solely 105 km of particular and a 36 km liason left to run, leaving him with a shoe in to the 2026 title.

Ricky Brabec

“I attempted to experience rigorously however took many dangers in the present day to make an excellent push. With at some point to go we’re trying actually good, so I’m actually glad about this. I believe final evening was most likely the very best evening’s sleep I’ve had for the reason that rally began. We now have a late begin tomorrow so I’d be capable of keep awake till 8.30pm tonight, so we’ll see. We’ve nonetheless bought at some point to go, Luciano has been driving very well by way of the entire rally, so I bought to offer it as much as him, we’ve been preventing each single day. It’s actually cool to see and I believe individuals which might be watching at residence are actually having fun with the outcomes on a regular basis as a result of it’s so forwards and backwards. It makes for good racing and it makes for good tv.”

Stage 12 of the 2026 Dakar Rally delivered one other demanding take a look at as riders tackled the penultimate day of the occasion on the route from Al Henakiyah to Yanbu. Protecting 720 kilometres, together with 311 km raced in opposition to the clock, the stage featured a diverse mixture of terrain, from small dunes and sandy tracks to rocky riverbeds and quick, flowing sections.

For Australia’s Daniel Sanders, it was an extended day, ending fifteenth and 35-minutes off the leaders, whereas driving injured. That noticed him lose his total fourth place to Skyler Howes – if by simply 10-seconds, whereas Adrien Van Beveren is now nipping at his heels, 8m26 off. The reigning World Rally-Raid Champion additionally suffered a small crash halfway by way of the particular, making an already troublesome day even more durable.

Daniel Sanders

“It was undoubtedly a more durable day than yesterday. The terrain was extra demanding, with a number of unfastened rocks, riverbeds, and technical sections, which made issues difficult, particularly driving with the harm. It seemed like a pleasant stage for those who had two arms, however in these extra technical components I needed to work exhausting simply to handle it. I did have a small crash, and the bike took a little bit of a success, however the primary focus was staying sensible and getting by way of the stage with out doing something foolish. The muscle tissue are sore from compensating, however that’s simply a part of it. The crew has labored extremely exhausting and so they’ve put a number of belief in me, so ending this Dakar is vital for all of us. There’s yet one more day to go, round 100 kilometres, so we’ll recuperate as greatest we are able to, recharge the batteries, and provides it all the pieces to achieve the end.”

The Stage 12 victory for Brabec marked his second of this yr’s Dakar, and profession thirteenth, with Honda HRC additionally claiming three of the highest 4 positions for each the stage and the general, with Tosha Schareina in third and Van Beveren in fourth for the day. Within the standings it’s Schareina and Howes in third and fourth.

Adrien Van Beveren

“It was a troublesome day, I made some navigation errors originally after which I calmed down, wanted to regroup and navigate completely. I caught as much as Skyler round 55 km after which I opened for round 100 km. In a single place I circled to discover a good monitor and I noticed Luciano’s gentle coming, so I let him go as I needed the battle to be truthful. Then I rode behind him a bit however I had a number of mud. On the refuelling we noticed that Ricky was not far-off, so I shut off after refuelling to let Ricky do his battle and never be within the center and make him undergo with the mud. I’ve had a greater feeling this week, so let’s preserve targeted for tomorrow once more.”

Tosha Schareina

“It was not simple in the present day as a result of there have been so many stones, it was 300 km of stones. I did somewhat mistake of navigation originally. It’s so good to have a teammate main total and to have two Hondas on the rostrum is at all times so cool. For certain, after two weeks of racing in Saudi Arabia, it’s at all times good to line up for the final stage. There’s 100 km, something can occur as a result of that is Dakar, however I believe all the pieces shall be good.”

Skyler Howes

“Oh boy, I had a really eventful day in the present day as a result of I had a small gasket failure which began draining the entire oil out of the bike. Opening the particular, I did roughly an OK job till the 100 km mark, Adrien took over and I simply tried my greatest to not construct any engine warmth. I’m very glad to have moved as much as fourth total now, simply by 10 seconds, however in the present day was a miracle of a day to get in to the end and I’m glad about that. We’ll see how this final 100 km goes tomorrow.”

Behind Brabec, there’s nonetheless the potential for Benavides making a comeback on the ultimate stage, however he’ll solely have 105 kilometres obtainable through which to catch up, a distance throughout which Brabec will pocket opener’s bonuses (as much as 1m23 in complete). The Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing unit Racing rider would due to this fact should be supersonic to climb to the highest of the general rankings.

Luciano Benavides

“It was a very powerful day, and I gave all the pieces from the beginning. I pushed early, handed Edgar fairly rapidly, and from round kilometre 150 I used to be opening the stage, which was undoubtedly not simple in these situations. We misplaced a little bit of time, however I’m glad as a result of I gave one hundred pc and we’re nonetheless within the combat. The stage was difficult with mud, troublesome navigation, a lot of rocks, and a few delicate dunes the place it was simple to lose time. There’s only one shorter stage left tomorrow, and we’ll preserve pushing and believing proper till the ultimate kilometre.”

We additionally noticed 4 riders from USA within the high 10, Brabec first, with Campbell eighth, Klein ninth and Howes tenth. In fifth by way of seventh had been the BAS World KTM duo of Michael Docherty and Toni Mulec, adopted by Hero’s Ross Department.

Benavides was the one Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing unit Racing rider within the top-10, with Edgar Canet eleventh.

Edgar Canet

“It was a very powerful stage. I bought barely off beam early on and Luciano handed me, and from that time my focus shifted to managing the day and reaching the end. We didn’t have something to realize by taking large dangers and quite a bit to lose, so the precedence was to convey the bike residence. I had a small crash on a downhill, however nothing severe, and after that it was clear it wasn’t the second to push too exhausting. The objective was merely to get by way of the stage and continue learning. I’m glad to have only one stage left to complete this Dakar. I’ve realized extra in these two weeks than within the final two years of rallying, and it’s been an enormous expertise. The combat on the entrance is extremely shut and the fellows are doing a tremendous job, so tomorrow goes to be tight proper till the tip.”

Within the Rally 2 class, the scales within the duel for outright triumph on the Dakar have clearly tipped within the favour of Toni Mulec. The Slovenian has accomplished stage 12 with a lead of 6m12 over Preston Campbell.

Mulec is properly set to observe within the footsteps of Mason Klein (2022), Romain Dumontier (2023), Harith Noah (2024) and Edgar Canet (2025). The BAS World KTM ridder is more likely to end in entrance of the 2 Honda Monster Power bikes ridden by Campbell and Martim Ventura.

Subsequent: Stage 13 – The Last!

Saturday’s remaining stage 13 of the 2026 Dakar Rally offers a comparatively quick dash set out in a loop from Yanbu. With simply 108 kilometres raced in opposition to the clock, all riders shall be pushing exhausting to safe a powerful remaining place within the rankings.

2026 Dakar Rally Stage 12 Outcomes

2026 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage 12

2026 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule

2026 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule