Hélder Rodrigues began his Dakar Rally 2026 campaign this morning. The 2011 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion and the first Portuguese rider to stand on the Dakar podium, he contested the rally on a motorbike eleven times. He finished every one of those appearances, placing in the Top 10 on ten occasions and reaching the podium twice, while also claiming eight stage wins.
Rodrigues made his SSV debut in 2023 and now returns to the category, co-driven by his friend Gonçalo Reis—also a highly regarded two-wheel racer. Now both part of the Santag Racing Team and at the wheel of a Polaris, they got their 2026 Dakar underway with the 23 km prologue, starting and finishing in Yanbu, which set the starting order for tomorrow’s first stage. Hélder Rodrigues posted the 14th-fastest time.
“It was a very, very fast prologue. We had a good prologue, but we caught a competitor who started ahead of us and had to deal with some dust. Still, this is only the first day and the important thing is to finish without any problems and run our race step by step. We’re happy,” said Hélder Rodrigues, whose Polaris carries number 417.
The first stage, with the bivouac remaining in Yanbu, will feature a 305-kilometre timed special. It begins on rocky terrain, demanding precise driving through narrower passages and over a stony surface. After a stop point, the special moves into very fast sandy sections, dotted with small dunes.
Source: Helder Rodrigues official press release
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