Daniel Saunders continues to steer the RallyGP class on the 2026 Dakar Rally regardless of lacking out on a stage win on Tuesday.
Saunders was KTM’s high rider on Stage 3 of the 2026 Dakar Rally in AlUla, however completed third total behind the HRC duo of winner Tosha Chalayna and second-place Ricky Brabec.
Shalayna’s efficiency was overwhelming, successful over Brabec by 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and beating Saunders by 3 minutes and 28 seconds.
Brabec is closest to Saunders within the total standings, however the American is 1 minute 07 seconds behind the Australian. Shalayna is at the moment in third place and 6 seconds away from victory.
Edgar Canet was the star of the rally initially, successful each the prologue and stage one. The Spaniard, competing in a Rally GP for the primary time this yr on the Dakar Rally GP, was solely seventh on stage three, however is now fourth within the total standings, greater than eight minutes off the lead.
The third manufacturing unit KTM rider, Luciano Benavidez, was fourth, his finest stage consequence within the rally to this point. The Argentine is at the moment fifth total, 11 minutes behind teammate Saunders.
Levels 4 and 5 may even be held in AlUla, and every might be a part of this yr’s marathon section. Wednesday’s stage 4 will embody a measured distance of 451km, whereas Thursday’s stage 5 (from AlUla to Hail) will embody a particular distance of 351km.
Within the Final Automobile class, Ford’s Mitch Guthrie gained the stage (his first stage win of his profession) and took the general lead regardless of a 10-second penalty. He at the moment leads Martin Prokop, additionally in a Ford, by 26 seconds. Regardless of a 10-second penalty for Sainz and a 20-second penalty for Ekström on Tuesday’s stage three, the Fords additionally completed within the high 5, with the manufacturing unit vehicles of Matthias Ekström, Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma taking third to fifth place.
Dacia, led by non-Ford chief Lucas Moraes, is at the moment greater than 5 minutes adrift of the leaders in sixth place and greater than a minute behind Roma in fifth place.
This marks a big change within the standings established after the primary two full phases of the rally, the place Dacia’s Nasser Al-Attiyah led Toyota’s Seth Quintero by seven seconds, with X-Raid’s Guillaume de Mobius occupying the highest three.
On the finish of the second stage, Ekström was the main Ford in eighth place, whereas Gasly had fallen to 14th place, 10 minutes behind the lead.
On the third stage, de Möbius suffered a puncture and Al Attiyah misplaced 22 minutes, falling behind Gasly, who led the Dakar for the primary time in his profession.
2025 winner Yazeed Al-Razi is at the moment in nineteenth place after Monday’s hefty penalty, almost half-hour off the lead.
