South African rally ace Saood Variawa claimed a maiden Dakar stage victory on Monday, leading a Toyota one-two finish alongside compatriot Henk Lategan on the eighth stage of Dakar 2026.
Variawa, partnered with French navigator François Cazalet, surprised the field by leapfrogging from sixth position in the final sector to claim his first-ever stage win in the gruelling desert rally. The Overdrive Toyota Hilux crew had maintained a strong pace throughout the 483-kilometre special stage around Wadi al Dawisir in Saudi Arabia.
Lategan fights back to podium
Meanwhile, Henk Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings secured second place on the day whilst clawing their way back to third in the overall standings. The Toyota Gazoo Racing duo delivered a masterful performance on the longest special stage of this year’s Dakar, fighting through challenging dune sections and rocky terrain.
German Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist finished third on the stage in their Ford Raptor, maintaining second place overall. Race leaders Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin brought their Dacia Sandrider home in fifth place on the day.
The stage began with American crew Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch setting the early pace, but Lategan soon took control, commanding the tempo before Variawa’s late surge to victory. Lategan finished 28 seconds clear of Ekström, with Al-Attiyah trailing by one minute 13 seconds.
Other South African performances
Fellow South Africans Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer finished tenth in their Century Factory CR-7, while Guy Botterill and Spanish navigator Oriol Mena placed 18th in their SVR Hilux.
Stellenbosch’s Puck Klaasen continued her impressive form, securing her second T3 Challenger stage victory in the cars category.
In the overall standings, Al-Attiyah’s Dacia leads Ekström’s Ford by just four minutes, with Lategan another two minutes behind in third. Variawa sits 14th overall, Botterill 17th, and Baragwanath 18th.
Benavides masters bike navigation
In the motorcycle category, Argentine Luciano Benavides delivered a masterclass in navigation to claim stage eight victory and move into the overall lead. The KTM rider emerged as the day’s dark horse, riding alone up front to benefit from maximum road-opening bonus relief.
Benavides gathered over seven minutes of road-opening bonus to take nearly five minutes out of teammate and 2025 Dakar winner Daniel Sanders, establishing a 10-second overall advantage. The tactical brilliance saw him shadow Sanders on the stage leaderboard whilst building crucial time.
Californian Ricky Brabec had taken charge early on his Honda Factory CRF450, running tenth on the road after bearing the responsibility of opening Sunday’s stage. World champion Sanders chased hard on his Factory KTM, passing the first waypoint second quickest.
A Honda trio of Skyler Howes, Adrien van Beveren and Tosha Schareina battled for third place throughout the stage, with all three finishing behind the fading Brabec, who consolidated third overall despite losing ground to the KTM duo.
There was late drama in the Rally 2 class as South African Michael Docherty made a navigation error, allowing Frenchman Neils Theric to claim Kove’s third win of the rally. Botswana’s Ross Branch finished 11th on his Hero Moto, while South African Brad Cox brought his Sherco home in 14th.
In the overall motorcycle standings, Benavides leads Sanders and Brabec, with Schareina fourth, 20 minutes behind the leaders.
Looking ahead
Tuesday presents another marathon challenge with 418 kilometres of racing to the second no-service bivouac deep in the Arabian Desert, where crews will be unable to receive outside assistance overnight.
The South African contingent will be hoping to build on Monday’s strong showing as the world’s toughest rally continues its relentless pace through Saudi Arabia’s unforgiving terrain.
