After a dominant 2025 campaign that ended with the Rally2 title, Edgar Canet will move up to RallyGP in 2026. He is part of a three-pronged effort by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing alongside defending RallyGP champion Daniel Sanders and Luciano Benavides.

“I’ve put a lot of hours in on the bike, so I’m feeling really confident ahead of January,” said Canet. “Moving up into the top category with the big dogs in RallyGP after just one year is super exciting. I have a great feeling on the bike and I’m happy with my fitness as I have worked hard to get to a good level.

“I know how unpredictable Dakar can be day to day, but I believe I have the speed and the navigation skills needed to run up front the entire time. I learned a lot from the 2025 Dakar from my teammates, so I’m feeling a lot more prepared heading into my second attempt. We have to manage the race and take it as it comes every day, but we have a great team behind us and I’m really excited to get things underway in Saudi Arabia.”

2025 was Canet’s first year with Red Bull KTM after an impressive rookie season in the World Rally-Raid Championship as a privateer. He quickly showed his stuff when he won his class at the Dakar Rally. Despite crashing out of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, he more than made up for it by winning out with victories at the South African Safari Rally, BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, and Rallye du Maroc.

With his successes, it was only sensible for KTM to bring him up to the top flight of rally raid in 2026. He will have great company supporting him too as Sanders also won four of five races in RallyGP to secure the 2025 title. Benavides finished fourth in points, only falling that far because of a crash at the season finale while sitting second in the standings; while Benavides conceded prepping for Dakar is “pretty tough” due to the accident, he feels his recovery is on the right track for January.

“Edgar is really excited to be racing in the RallyGP class,” commented team manager Andreas Hölzl. “He did an amazing job this year in Rally2, winning the World Cup and putting the fight to the top guys all season.

“The team is doing an amazing job from the technical side in preparing the bikes perfectly for the guys, and they work so hard every day behind the scenes to get everything ready. We’re excited to get out to Saudi Arabia and defend our titles.”

Featured image credit: Sebas Romero