The Catalan rider finished the tenth special stage of the Dakar in 18th position in the Challenger category and moved up one place in the overall standings, where he now occupies 24th place.
The BE Racing team rider, freed from the responsibility of assisting his two teammates, was able to focus fully on improving his performance, despite the limitations of the vehicle.
“For us, being in the top 20 is a fantastic result. We are very happy with the stage we have done. There are three more to go, there is still a long way to go, but we are happy to have made it this far.”
Joan Font is in top form as he faces the decisive stage of the 2026 Dakar. The Catalan rider has chosen one of the most demanding and decisive stages of this edition—the second part of the marathon, with abundant dunes and no assistance the night before—to step up and achieve his best partial result. Together with a brilliant Adrià Guillem, “outstanding in navigation,” as Font himself pointed out, he completed the 420 timed kilometers of the special stage in 18th position in the Challenger category, improving on the 20th place he achieved on the second day.
"We are very happy to have been able to finish the special stage. We broke the front stabilizer bar, but this did not prevent us from moving forward and finishing in 18th position, which we greatly appreciate. For us, being in the top 20 is already a fantastic result. We are very happy with the stage we have done. There are three more to go, there is still a long way to go, but we are happy to have made it this far," acknowledged a satisfied Joan Font at the end of the special stage.
His approach to this tenth stage was significantly different from previous days, when the priority had been to preserve the mechanics of his Can-Am Maverick X3. This time, however, Font opted to take more risks: "This time we focused on ourselves, on racing, on being competitive, on giving it our all while being aware of our limitations. Our vehicle cannot compete with those at the front, we are far from that."
None of this was part of the team's initial plan. From the start of the rally, Font and Guillem were clear that their role in this Dakar was to support the structure, especially the two drivers of the Saudi Next Gen project, to help them complete the race. However, the withdrawal of both of them in the seventh and eighth stages has completely altered the script: now their main objective is to reach the finish line and do so at the best possible level. “We are happy to be here, although also a little sad because we are not all here. We are sorry to have to face this last part of the competition alone, as the idea was for the whole team to reach the finish line. But this is the Dakar...”
Tomorrow, the Catalan duo will face the eleventh and penultimate stage of the Dakar, prior to the final arrival in Yanbu. The day will cover a total distance of 882 kilometers, of which 346 will be timed; a long and demanding day in which, according to the organizers, the main difficulty will be navigation.
Source: Joan Font Press
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