The 2026 Dakar Rally will be a loop of western Saudi Arabia, starting and finishing in Yanbu. FIA competitors will traverse 7,994 kilometers in total with 4,840 km in Selective Sections wheras FIM will go 7,906 km with 4,748 being timed.
Stages 4–5 and 9–10 are marathons, meaning racers will not be allowed to receive assistance from their teams while their accommodations in each bivouac are spartan. Marathon legs will also have different routes for FIA and FIM.
All six cities that the race will cross have previously hosted Dakar stages. Wadi ad-Dawasir had the longest absence as it last appeared in 2022.
Like in 2024, Riyadh is the site of the rest day.
The Dakar Classic will run 7,281 km total with 4,162 km in SS. Mission 1000 will continue to do 100-km specials each day.
2026 Dakar Rally route
| Stage | Start | Finish | Selective Sections | Liaison | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | Yanbu | Yanbu | 25 km 24 km (Classic) | 67 km 83 km (Classic) | January 3 |
| Stage 1 | Yanbu | Yanbu | 304 km 219 km (Classic) | 214 km 146 km (Classic) | January 4 |
| Stage 2 | Yanbu | AlUla | 400 km 316 km (Classic) | 104 km 197 km (Classic) | January 5 |
| Stage 3 | AlUla | AlUla | 421 km 266 km (Classic) | 244 km 237 km (Classic) | January 6 |
| Stage 4 | AlUla | AlUla | 422 km (FIA) 453 km (FIM) 286 km (Classic) | 74 km 193 km (Classic) | January 7 |
| Stage 5 | AlUla | Ha’il | 373 km (FIA) 356 km (FIM) 338 km (Classic) | 60 km 106 km (Classic) | January 8 |
| Stage 6 | Ha’il | Riyadh | 336 km 525 km (Classic) | 589 km 369 km (Classic) | January 9 |
| Rest Day | Riyadh | Riyadh | N/A | N/A | January 10 |
| Stage 7 | Riyadh | Wadi ad-Dawasir | 462 km 473 km (Classic) | 415 km 407 km (Classic) | January 11 |
| Stage 8 | Wadi ad-Dawasir | Wadi ad-Dawasir | 470 km 307 km (Classic) | 226 km 312 km (Classic) | January 12 |
| Stage 9 | Wadi ad-Dawasir | Bisha | 420 km (FIA) 425 km (FIM) 395 km (Classic) | 118 km 156 km (Classic) | January 13 |
| Stage 10 | Bisha | Bisha | 466 km (FIA) 418 km (FIM) 312 km (Classic) | 5 km 49 km (Classic) | January 14 |
| Stage 11 | Bisha | Al-Henakiyah | 347 km 390 km (Classic) | 510 km 456 km (Classic) | January 15 |
| Stage 12 | Al-Henakiyah | Yanbu | 310 km 263 km (Classic) | 408 km 360 km (Classic) | January 16 |
| Stage 13 | Yanbu | Yanbu | 99 km 48 km (Classic) | 36 km 46 km (Classic) | January 17 |
Featured image credit: Amaury Sport Organisation
131 Off-Road 
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