Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom has been gifted victory on Stage 7 of the 2026 Dakar Rally after long-time chief Henk Lategan hit hassle within the closing half and dropped over 10 minutes.
Lategan had been poised to take each the stage win and the general lead because the Toyota driver headed the pack on the last checkpoint earlier than the end, having led Ekstrom by 1m46s, however the South African misplaced all of his benefit within the run to the chequered flag of the 459km stage between Riyadh and Wadi Advert-Dawasir.
As an alternative it was Ekstrom who took the stage win, 4m27s up on Toyota’s Joao Ferreira, as Lategan slipped to thirteenth on the stage’s last standings – 8m35s behind the Ford driver.
Not solely did Lategan lose his shot at turning into the primary repeat stage winner of the 2026 occasion, however he additionally misplaced the provisional lead within the total standings. The Toyota driver had moved forward of Nasser Al-Attiyah on the 375km checkpoint, however the time misplaced on the ultimate chunk of the stage has seen him slip to fourth total.
As Lategan crossed the end line of the stage it was not clear what brought on the time loss, however his Toyota was broken on arrival.
Lategan’s late drop duly shuffled the pack, with Mitch Guthrie taking third place on the stage behind winner and team-mate Ekstrom and Toyota’s Ferreira. Toby Value missed out on the stage rostrum by simply six seconds in fourth for the manufacturing unit Toyota squad, forward of Dacia pair Lucas Moraes and Sebastien Loeb, with one other Toyota in Seth Quintero in seventh.
#202 Toyota Gazoo Racing W2Rc Toyota: Henk Lategan, Brett Cummings
Picture by: Crimson Bull Content material Pool
Mathieu Serradori continued to impress for Century Racing with eighth place on the stage, as Ford pair Carlos Sainz Sr and Nani Roma rounded out the highest 10.
Earlier within the day, it was introduced that Roma was declared winner of Stage 5 after a 1m10s penalty for overspeeding was overturned by FIA stewards.
Having regarded prone to lose the general lead, Dacia’s Al-Attiyah’s eleventh place on the stage has preserved his place on the prime of the standings, but it surely has been trimmed by Ekstrom to 4m47s who’s now his closest challenger, with fellow Ford driver Roma additionally promoted up a spot to 3rd as a result of Lategan’s late fade.
Lategan is now fourth, 7m21s off total chief Al-Attiyah, with Ford’s Sainz in fifth and Loeb in sixth for Dacia.
Guthrie’s sturdy displaying on the stage has seen him shut the hole to the leaders however he stays seventh total for Ford, with Serradori additionally remaining in eighth, whereas Moraes has moved as much as ninth as Eryk Goczal was pushed all the way down to tenth – your entire prime 10 break up by underneath 26 minutes.
Dakar Rally – Total outcomes after Stage 7:
| Pos | Driver | Crew / automobile | time/Hole |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | #299 – The Dacia Sandriders | 28h10m15s |
| 2 | Mattias Ekstrom | #226 – Ford Racing | +4m47s |
| 3 | Nani Roma | #227 – Ford Racing | +7m15s |
| 4 | Henk Lategan | #202 – Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC | +7m21s |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Sr | #225 – Ford Racing | +10m26s |
| 6 | Sebastien Loeb | #219 – The Dacia Sandriders | +15m39s |
| 7 | Mitch Guthrie | #228 – Ford Racing | +19m20s |
| 8 | Mathieu Serradori | #214 – Century Racing Manufacturing unit Crew | +21m55s |
| 9 | Lucas Moraes | #223 – The Dacia Sandriders | +24m39s |
| 10 | Eryk Goczal | #205 – Energylandia Rally Crew | +25m25s |
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