KTM dominates the opening stage of the 2026 Dakar
After just one day of racing, the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally is already being dominated by KTM.
One of the highlights of the year when it comes to off-road racing, the Dakar Rally is up and running with one brand already making headway as it looks to defend its title.
Last year’s winners were KTM, thanks to star rider Daniel Sanders. The Australian again made a sizzling start to his title defence as he placed second, just over a minute off the overall lead come the end of Sunday’s opening stage.
But Sanders was out-done by his young Spanish teammate Edgar Canet. The 20-year-old is making his debut in the RallyGP category at this year’s event, and his opening stage win makes him the youngest rider in the Dakar’s history to win a stage.
Canet is one of three riders, alongside Sanders and Luciano Benavides, that is competing aboard a full factory KTM 450 Rally motorcycle, which is the race-spec version of the brand’s Rally Replica model.
It uses a 449cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine, and features a fuel capacity of 35 litres. The opening stage win for Canet came after the Spaniard won the prologue, while Benavides made sure all three KTMs were inside the top five with a fifth-place finish.
The opening stage saw riders tackle a rugged and challenging 524km loop around Yanbu, where 305 of those kilometers included racing against the clock. The 2026 Dakar will also finish in Yanbu, which is located on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
Speaking after his stage one victory, Canet said:
“I’m really happy with how the rally has started. Winning the prologue gave me a great feeling straight away and my rhythm was good, I felt confident on the bike and I was able to follow the roadbook with 100 per cent confidence, braking before the dangers and avoiding unnecessary risks while still being fast. Today’s stage was very demanding with a lot of different terrain, from fast sections to slow, rocky areas, but my navigation was strong and the bike felt great again. Apart from a small mistake that cost a few seconds, everything came together nicely, so to take another win and start the rally like this is incredible.”
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.