Cristina Gutiérrez will remain a Dacia Sandrider through at least the 2027 Dakar Rally. She will run the 2026 Dakar, at least two rounds on that year’s World Rally-Raid Championship like the Rallye du Maroc, and the 2027 race.

The 2024 Dakar Rally winner in Challenger, Gutiérrez graduated to the Ultimate class at the Rallye du Maroc later that year for the new Dacia program. Being the least experienced driver in the premier category of the team’s trio, Dacia opted to have her race part-time in the W2RC rather than the full calendar like her teammates Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb.

She finished 40th in class at the 2025 Dakar, placing as high as fifth in the first stage before a power steering failure sank her to the bottom of the leaderboard. Gutiérrez has not entered a W2RC round since, but will return for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal in September.

“To be able to extend our contracts with the Dacia Sandriders is one of the biggest moments of my career, just like it was when I first signed for the team,” Gutiérrez said. “To have the possibility to continue with the Dacia Sandriders gives a really good feeling because the team gives us a lot of confidence to develop and improve. We are super-happy to be part of a team that includes two legends of the sport, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb, and we will try to do our best, as always. We want to make history with Dacia by helping the team to achieve the dream of winning the Dakar. It’s also our dream so we will be very focused on this programme with this special team.”

The extension aligns Gutiérrez with Dacia as a whole as the team is also contracted to operate through the 2027 Dakar Rally.

Al-Attiyah currently leads the standings after three rounds while Loeb is tied for ninth; the former won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge while the latter is coming off a runner-up finish at the South African Safari Rally. Dacia also sits second in the manufacturers’ championship, 92 points behind Toyota.

“All of us at the Dacia Sandriders are really delighted that we will continue our collaboration with Cristina and Pablo (Moreno),” team manager Tiphanie Isnard offered. “It’s the logical and natural continuity of the work they have done in races and in development. As a crew, they are performing very well and always inspire the team because they never give up and always work so hard. They have performed an important role in building the team spirit with the other crews and the entire team as well as helping and supporting everyone whenever they can. They are still in a progressive phase of their careers but it’s a privilege that we will continue to support their progression, which is already very positive.”

Lucas Moraes has also been linked to Dacia for 2026, though neither he nor the team have announced any movement on that front.

Featured image credit: Florent Gooden / DPPI / ASO