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”