SS11 Bisha – Al Henakiyah – 536km Liaison, 346km Stage
Robbie Wallace put yesterday’s nightmare behind him with another heroic ride on today’s eleventh stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally to maintain his 45th place overall and 34th position in the Rally 2 class.
Still dealing with the back injury he sustained earlier in the week and having sought medical attention last night for the stomach bug he picked up which nearly ended his adventure, the 28-year-old from Northallerton headed out for today’s 550 miles of riding which took him from Bisha, north to Al Henakiyah via his favoured rocky tracks rather than the energy-sapping sand dunes.
Apart from clattering his foot on the way to the stage which damaged his boot, the Yorkshireman reported no problems as he brought the X-Raids supported KTM 450 home in 47th place overall and 36th in class to maintain his position heading into the final two stages.
A further 447 miles (720km) await in tomorrow’s penultimate leg which takes competitors back to the Yanbu base via mainly rocky tracks, although there are a few dunes to negotiate too, before a short blast around the Red Sea port on Saturday over the final 88 miles (141km) sees the remaining competitors cross the finish line after the two-week event.
Robbie Wallace: “I didn’t feel too good this morning after yesterday when I felt terrible all day, but I had some tablets and a bit of food and was ready to go after it took me three times longer than normal to get my kit on because of my back. I thought my bad luck had returned when I clipped a cat’s eye on the road section to the start of today’s stage which ripped the bottom of my boot off and my foot hurt for a while, but it wasn’t a problem. The day ended up going really well as there were no sand dunes to get stuck on which meant I didn’t have to lift my bike up, the main problem was the dust generated by the cars when they went past which meant I had to ease off and it cost me a load more time. I’m just really pleased I managed to get though today’s 550 miles and now there’s only tomorrow’s big stage and then the shorter one on Saturday to go. Thanks to the doctor last night who worked wonders with his many medicines, and he said in no uncertain terms he’ll do everything to get me to the finish. It’s been damage limitation this week so I’m pleased with that. The finish line of this great adventure is closer than ever before, I just need to hang in for the that last bit and keep my focus, but anything can still happen so I’m taking nothing for granted.”
Howes Victorious As Injury Thwarts Sanders
Cowboy hat-wearing and handlebar moustachioed American Skyler Howes took a debut win in his Dakar career as the Californian adapted best to his favoured conditions to come home just 21 seconds ahead of Monster Energy Honda HRC teammate Adrien van Beveren with the third of the team, Ricky Brabec, claiming seventh on the stage.
Despite some team riding, the idea of which was to share the bonus points on offer, Brabec had to relinquish top spot overall to Luciano Benavides (Red Bull Factory Racing KTM) who now leads by 23 seconds going into the penultimate stage, although the Argentinean won’t be relishing opening the stage tomorrow.
Sadly, it looks as if the hopes of defending champion Daniel Sanders are over as the KTM rider revealed that he has a broken collarbone after yesterday’s crash. Despite that, he battled on today and managed to achieve the 13th best time of the day and will be unable to provide any support to Benavides tomorrow.
In Rally 2, a storming ride by Slovenian Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM Team) has seen him take over the lead ahead of American Preston Campbell (Monster Energy Honda HRC) by 2’ 27.
Results after SS11 – Bisha – Al Henakiyah
Overall Position: 45th (out of 96 remaining)
Rally 2 Position: 34th (out of 83 remaining)
British Rider: No. 1 (out of 4 remaining)
Overall Time: 61h 04′ 46”
Time Behind Leader: 13h 39’ 20”
Distance Covered: 7170 km
Distance To Go: 861 km
More updates as the event progresses and via the links below.
https://www.dakar.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dakar
https://x.com/dakar
https://www.dailymotion.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/dakarrally
https://www.tiktok.com/@dakar
Notes to Editors.
The 48th edition of the Dakar Rally will see around 780 competitors from all over the world, including 115 in the motorcycle category, converge on Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea in western Saudi Arabia. 2026 sees a significantly reworked route offering competitors a fresh challenge across Saudi Arabia’s vast deserts. The 2026 Dakar Rally will feature 13 full stages, plus the traditional Prologue to commence proceedings on January 3 that will help determine the starting order for the first full day of action. The rally will be split by a rest day in the capital Riyadh on Saturday 10 January, allowing competitors some vital recovery time before the decisive second week. Bike competitors will cover 7,896 kilometres over two weeks, including 4,826km in the form of competitive special stages, with the remainder made up of transport sections. With nearly 5,000km of timed running, the 2026 edition will be one of the longest Dakars in terms of competitive distance, making it potentially one of the toughest events in the rally’s recent history. The finish is scheduled for Saturday 17 January 2026 with the final stage around Yanbu.
ENDS
