João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro closed the first week of Dakar motivated by a problem-free stage that allowed them to continue climbing the general classification. After a troubled week due to punctures, the Repsol Portugal duo finished the race in fifth place, rising to 12th place overall, remaining in the fight in this Dakar Rally. «It's a positive day. We know that being in the fight for victory in the stages sometimes becomes a handicap for the next stage, because we are going to open the track. On the dunes today we had a positive performance and, now, the most important thing is to take advantage of the rest day and plan the next week of racing, which will be long and will dictate the winner. We continue to fight with all our energy», stated the Leiria driver. But the big winner of the day was Nasser Al-Attiyah who took his first stage victory in dominant fashion. The driver led the Dacia-sponsored duel with teammate Sebastien Loeb as they traversed the challenging 326km stretch from Ha'il to Riyadh. The 55-year-old Qatari, five-time winner of the mythical rally, took the lead of the stage around a third of the way through the race, overtaking Joao Ferreira, and despite the competition, Al-Attiyah was the first to arrive, with 2 minutes and 26 seconds over Loeb and regained the overall lead. This Saturday, the Dakar 2026 reaches its traditional rest day in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, offering drivers, navigators and teams a strategic break in the middle of the race. After six consecutive stages and a route that included very long and demanding sections, the rally caravan settles in bivouac of the city for a moment of recovery. But short, because for stage 7, and its 462 km between Riyadh and Wadi Ad-Dawasir, no one is risking predictions.
