With Dr. Arnas Paliukėnas resigning from his post as the Dakar Rally’s FIA Chair of the Stewards, Jan Seinen has been appointed to take his place.

Paliukėnas was supposed to be head steward like he did in 2025, but stepped down in November shortly after his son Aisvydas became Benediktas Vanagas’ navigator for the race. The doctor, a law professor who’s also on the FIA International Court of Appeal, reasoned it would not be fair for him to oversee penalties and other major decisions when his own family is competing.

Prior to Paliukėnas’ resignation, Seinen was going to be the main FIA steward who reported to the chair. He has been a rally competition director under the KNAC Nationale Autosport Federatie (KNAF, the Netherlands’ FIA federation) since 2012 and a steward for KNAF races for the past seven years.

The FIA made Seinen a steward for international events in 2022. Rallies he worked in 2025 included the Cyprus Rally, Rallye Český Krumlov, Rally Silesia, and Ulster Rally, while Seinen also did pavement races such as the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

In rally raid, Seinen served under Paliukėnas at the W2RC’s Rallye du Maroc in October before becoming the Chairman of the Stewards for the Dubai International Baja last month.

Alqassim Hamidaddin was named an FIA steward to fill the void left by Seinen’s promotion. The Emirati was head steward for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia in 2024.

Saleh Alem remains the Dakar Rally’s ASN steward for host country Saudi Arabia.

Featured image credit: Jan Seinen