After grinding through the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal and Rallye du Maroc in 2024, Carlos López Belloso will make his Dakar Rally debut in 2026.

A self-described amateur rally raid pilot with a primarily enduro background, López decided to try out the rally world in 2023. The Spaniard entered races in his home country like the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura and Baja Aragón in the Trail class.

In 2024, he won the Trail category for the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship at Extremedura. López also made his World Rally-Raid Championship debut that year in Portugal, where he finished 28th in Rally2. He also entered the Rallye du Maroc, overcoming a Stage 3 crash that resulted in a sternoclavicular dislocation to finish 55th in class. Both starts came for Pedregà Team.

“Words can’t describe how I feel, I’m officially selected to participate in the 2026 Dakar Rally,” wrote López after receiving his acceptance letter from the ASO on Friday.

“After years of dreaming, fighting, and preparing, today one of the biggest challenges of my life becomes a reality. I’ll be among the 130 riders who will take part in the toughest rally in the world, from January 3rd to 17th, traveling more than 8,000 km through extreme landscapes and relentless terrain. Giant dunes, sand canyons, unsupported marathon stages, sections divided by category, and even a Power Stage await us. It will be an odyssey of endurance, heart, and mind.

“Now the countdown begins. Intense months of preparation lie ahead, where I will give everything I have to be 100%. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and accompanied me this far. This achievement is yours too.”

Featured image credit: Ayuntamiento de Pedro Muñoz