Motorsports
This is how Dakar 2026 breaks down in all categories after Stage 8. Motorcycle surprise and “Solpasso”. Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma forced to attack in marathon
Carlos Sainz and Nani Roma had already been cautioned after the seventh stage. The three most important stages of the 2026 Dakar Rally begin this Monday. And the first of these, a special 483km loop stage starting and finishing in Wadi al-Dawasir, already showed a decisive difference.
In the bike category,Luciano Benavidez’s opening means a change of leadership Before the second marathon stage of the rally. The Argentine opened the course and had such devilish pace that no one else could take first place and receive the bonus. Therefore, exceed sandersKTM’s teammate, is the heavy favorite in the general classification by just 10 seconds. The cross is Tosha Shalayna People who see their options disappear little by little, day after day they have to give up.
In terms of car classes, there were no major changes in the general classification, as results were evenly matched among the winning candidates. Henk Lategan looks set to take away the pain from the previous day and win the stage However, Valiawa snatched the victory with a difference of only 3 seconds, which no one expected. At least Toyota effectively regained its place on the podium despite the losses. Nani Roma. Catalan and Carlos Sainz If he wants to maintain his chances of winning this Dakar, he needs to attack in the marathon stage. the leader remains Nasser al-Attiyah.
Regarding the challenger division, Pau Navarro remains in command, with Yan Rosa as co-pilot.However, the lead gap with Nicolas Cabigliasso narrowed to 2 minutes and 2 seconds. The winner of this stage 8 was Puck Klaasen with just 3 seconds remaining.
Wadi ad-Dawasir 721km; Special 483km
Classification Stage 8 – Motorcycle
1. Luciano Benavidez (ARG/KTM) 4:26:39
2. Daniel Saunders (AUS/KTM) 4’50”
3. Ricky Brabec (USA/Honda) 5’02”
4. Tosha Chalayna (ESP/Honda) 9’47”
5. Adrian van Beveren (France/Honda) 11 minutes 56 seconds
6. Schuyler Howes (USA/Honda) 12’32”
7. Edgar Canet (ESP/KTM) 15’06”
8. Nacho Cornejo (CHL/Hero) 17’13”
9. Niels Selick (FRA/Kove) 19’05”
10. Martin Ventura (POR/Honda) 19’20”
11. Ross Branch (BOT/Hero) 20’20”
18. Arnau Jed (ESP/KTM) 32’13”
23. Josep Pedro (ESP/Husqvarna) 39’43” (Original: MOTUL)
32. Javi Vega (ESP/Kobe) 1:01’39” (Original: MOTUL)
55. Carlos Lopez (ESP/KTM) 1:47’30”
58. Iñigo Zardoja (ESP/KTM) 1:49’00”
76. Joan Guillen (ESP/Husqvarna) 2:29’02”
77. Rashid Alual (ESP/Husqvarna) 2:29’29”
81. Borja Perez (ESP/Husqvarna) 2:38’08”
82. Mario Garrido (ESP/Gas Gus) 2:41’51”
83. Juancar Torres (ESP/Husqvarna) 2:43’01”
93. Fernando Dominguez (ESP/KTM) 3:23’02”
classification common – motorcycle
1. Luciano Benavidez (ARG/KTM) 33:18.50
2. Daniel Saunders (AUS/KTM) 10inch
3. Ricky Brabec (USA/Honda) 4’47”
4. Tosha Chalayna (ESP/Honda) 20’13”
5. Schuyler Howes (USA/Honda) 41’06’
6. Nacho Cornejo (CHL/Hero) 45’58”
7. Adrian Van Beveren (France/Honda) 1:03’13”
8. Ross Branch (BOT/Hero) 1:55’02”
9. Preston Campbell (USA/Honda) 2:01’28”
10. Toni Mulek (SLO/KTM) 2:11’04” (Rally 2)
19. Arnau Jed (ESP/KTM) 4:46’25”
22. Josep Pedro (ESP/Husqvarna) 5:13’34” (Original by MOTUL)
31. Javi Vega (ESP/Kobe) 7:42’11” (Original: MOTUL)
44. Edgar Canet (ESP/KTM) 11:07’05”
52. Iñigo Zardoja (ESP/KTM) 13:17’14”
53. Carlos Lopez (ESP/KTM) 13:27’04’
63. Joan Guillen (ESP/Husqvarna) 16:07’00”
72. Rashid Alual (ESP/Husqvarna) 17:59’00”
73. Mario Garrido (ESP/Gus Gus) 18:01’55”
74. Borja Perez (ESP/Husqvarna) 18:28’03
89. Juancar Torres (ESP/Husqvarna) 39:05’23”
92. Fernando Dominguez (ESP/KTM) 43:05’47”
Classification Stage 8 – CARS
1. Sword Variawa / François Casale (RSA-FRA/Toyota) 4:20:35
2. Henk Lategan/B. Cummings (RSA/Toyota) 3 inch
3. Matthias Ekström / E. Bergqvist (SUE/Ford) 29 inches
4. Seth Quintero / A. Short (USA/Toyota) 37 inches
5. Nasser Al Attiyah / F. Larquin (QAT/Dacia) 1 minute 16 seconds
6. Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz (ESP/Ford) 1 minute 29 seconds
7. Guillaume de Moebius / Mathieu Baumel (BEL-FRA/Mini) 2’00”
8. Sébastien Loeb / E. Boulanger (FRA/Dacia) 3’02”
9. Nani Roma / Alex Haro (ESP/Ford) 3’38”
10. Brian Baragwanath / Leonard Kremer (RSA/Century) 3’48”
11. Matthew Serradri / L. Minaudier (FRA/Century) 4’15”
12. Mitch Guthrie Jr. / K. Walch (USA/Ford) 4’56”
13. Toby Price / Armand Monleon (AUS-ESP/Toyota) 5’03”
15. Michal Gokzal / Diego Ortega (POL-ESP/Toyota) 6’28”
18. Guy Botterill /oriol mena (RSA-ESP/Toyota) 7’55”
twenty three. Lia Sanz / M. Gerini (ESP/Ebro) 15’04”
26. Cristina Gutierrez / Pablo Moreno (ESP/Dacia) 21’28”
General classification – CARS
1. Nasser Al Attiyah / F. Larkin (QAT/Dacia) 32:32.06
2. Matthias Ekström / E. Bergqvist (SUE/Ford) 4’00”
3. Henk Lategan/B. Cummings (RSA/Toyota) 6’08”
4. Nani Roma / Alex Haro (ESP/Ford) 9’37”
5. Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz (ESP/Ford) 10’39”
6. Sébastien Loeb / E. Boulanger (FRA/Dacia) 17’25”
7. Mitch Guthrie Jr. / K. Walch (USA/Ford) 23’00’
8. Mathieu Serradri / L. Minaudier (FRA/Century) 25’04”
9. Lucas Moraes / D. Zenz (ALE/Dacia) 29’55”
10. João Ferreira/F. Palmeiro (POR/Toyota) 35’08”
11. Toby Price/Armand Monleon (AUS-ESP/Toyota) 40’26”
14. Cristina Gutierrez / Pablo Moreno (ESP/Dacia) 59’46”
17. Guy Botterill /oriol mena (RSA-ESP/Toyota) 1:11’31”
20. Lia Sanz / M. Gerini (ESP/Ebro) 1:27’58”
21. Michal Gokzal / Diego Ortega (POL-ESP/Toyota) 1:46’51”
Classification Stage 8 – Challenger
1. Puck Klaasen / August Sanz (PB-ARG/G-ECKO) 4:55.38
2. Dania Achille / S. Delaunay (SAU/Taurus) 3 inches
3. Paul Spirings / Van der Stelt (PB/Taurus) 21 inch
9. Pau Navarro/Yan Rosa (ESP/Taurus) 5’24”
11. Oscar Lal/Fernando Acosta (ESP/Taurus) 10 minutes 46 seconds
24. Joan Font/Adria Guillem (ESP/BRP) 1 hour 46 minutes 49 seconds
General classification – Challenger
1. Pau Navarro/Yan Rosa (ESP/Taurus) 36:18’05”
2. Nicolas Cabiliaso/V. Pertegarini (ARG/Taurus) 2’02”
3. Lucas Del Rio/B. Jacomy (CHL/Taurus) 40’46”
4. Yasir Seiadan/X. Flick (SAU/Taurus) 42’42”
21. Oscar Lal/Fernando Acosta (ESP/Taurus) 8:53’51”
26. Joan Font/Adria Guillem (ESP/BRP) 12 hours 43 minutes 35 seconds
Classification Stage 8 – Track
1. Van den Brink/Van Heun/Van de Pol (PB/MM) 5 hours:03.42
2. Zara/Fiusa/Van Groll (LTU-POR-PB/IVECO) 5’31”
16. Bolero/Gottlib/Lopez (ESP-BEL-ESP/Iveco) 3 hours:09’19”
18. Tibau/Nadal/Baz (ESP/Iveco) 36 hours: 26’18”
24. Blacksmith/Blacksmith/House (ESP/Iveco) 44 hours:26’18”
25. Alonso/Arteaga/Iveas (ESP/Iveco) 44 hours: 26’18”
28. Esther/Rivas/Jacoste (ESP/Male) 44 hours:26’18”
30. Ingels/Shotanus/Lopez (BEL/PB/ESP/Man) 44 hours: 26’18”
General classification – trucks
1. Van den Brink/Van Heun/Van de Pol (PB/MM) 37 hours:48.31
2. Zara/Fiusa/Van Groll (LTU-POR-PB/IVECO) 38’33”
15. Bolero/Gottlib/Lopez (ESP-BEL-ESP/Iveco) 20:09:32
17. Tibau/Nadal/Baz (ESP/Iveco) 87 hours: 47’10”
21. Ingels/Shotanus/Lopez (BEL/PB/ESP/Man) 177 hours:26’07”
23. Blacksmith/Blacksmith/Houses (ESP/Iveco) at 220h:09’39”
25. Alonso/Arteaga/Iveas (ESP/Iveco) 249 hours: 38’06”
28. Esther/Rivas/Jacoste (ESP/Male) 266 hours: 28’28”
Source: Mundo Deportivo
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Red Bull Formula 1 team president Laurent Mekies believes the Bulls will be behind their rivals at the start of the 2026 season, given the production of their engines and new aerodynamic rules.
“We know it will be difficult for us, especially at the beginning of the season. I think we will fall behind our rivals, but we need to hold on for a few more months.”
“I hope we come back to the top, but it would be naive to think that Red Bull will be ahead right away. We will be behind at the start,” said Mekis.
Bulls will produce its engines in collaboration with Ford from 2026.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
After several significant personnel changes in the team, Max Verstappen has finally learned who he will be working with in the Red Bull pits for the new season.
At the end of last year, it became known that three key members of the four-time world champion’s headquarters had left. According to De Telegraaf, Jeff Ayton replaced Verstappen’s vehicle control engineer Michael Manning, who left the team after the 2025 season. He has previously worked with other Red Bull drivers and worked temporarily with Verstappen in Manning’s absence last year.
Verstappen’s former engine mechanic David Mart has moved to Audi and his replacement at Red Bull has not yet been determined. Performance engineer Tom Hart is also leaving the team; He will join Williams but will continue to work with the Milton Keynes-based team for a while.
Changes also occurred among mechanics. After Matt Culler moved to the position of Audi’s chief mechanic, Verstappen was replaced as his first mechanic by his twin brother John Culler. He is well known to Max, who has previously held a similar position on the other side of the Red Bull pits, working alongside Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite rumors about the winter break, Gianpiero Lambiase will remain Verstappen’s race engineer for another season.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Photos of the allegedly leaked Ferrari F1 team jerseys for the 2026 season have appeared on the internet.
The published photos show a red T-shirt with white inserts.
Ferrari will officially announce its color on January 23. At the same time, some sources reported that the design of the 2026 car should be “pleasantly surprising”.
Given that Ferrari and other teams have used darker shades of their primary colors (red in the Scuderia’s case) in recent years, the introduction of red and white team uniforms could signal a move towards a lighter color scheme.
The same idea is put forward in a video published on the Scuderia’s official account.
2026 FERRARI PRODUCTS? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ClhblugnUh
— La Gazzetta Ferrari (@GazzettaFerrari) January 18, 2026
It’s just a matter of time⏱️ pic.twitter.com/SyykHCiHcw
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 18, 2026
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
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