Saudi Arabia, 4 January 2026 – The first major test of Dakar 2026 confirmed the strength of the EBRO Audax Motorsport project. Laia Sanz and Maurizio Gerini completed Stage 1—a loop starting and finishing in Yanbu, with 305 timed kilometres and 213 km of liaison—with a well-judged strategy that left them just outside the top 20, meeting the objective they had set for Sunday.
On a day marked by the first rocky sections, the 20-time world champion showed her experience, tackling the special with a cool head and caution. That approach allowed her to drive the EBRO s800 XRR with a balanced mix of speed and safety, avoiding unnecessary risks—especially with the tyres.
After a strong start, running consistently among the top 20 through the early sandy canyons, Sanz and Gerini opted for prudence as they entered the rockier terrain. Despite suffering a puncture with less than 100 kilometres to go—ironically after passing the organiser’s pit-stop area for tyre changes—and receiving a small two-minute penalty for speeding in a limited zone, they crossed the finish line in 25th overall, 16 minutes 26 seconds behind the stage winner.
“It was a stage with a lot of rocks and we approached it with the philosophy of not taking risks to avoid punctures. In the end we only had one puncture, but in this kind of terrain it’s often also about having a bit of luck. Overall we’re happy, although maybe we were too cautious—but I prefer to start this way, because Dakar is going to be very long. I think we have room to push more, but today the goal was to do exactly what we did: take care of the car, which worked very well. Tomorrow we’ll start from a good position to keep improving stage by stage,” said the EBRO Audax Motorsport driver.
This result places the team in an ideal starting position for tomorrow’s Stage 2, which will take the caravan towards Al Ula. The day features 400 km of special out of 504 km total, in the mountainous region of north-west Saudi Arabia, where 28% of the route will once again be rocky.
For the EBRO team, the challenge will remain smart pace management and preserving the EBRO s800 XRR, with the aim of steadily consolidating their position in this debut year.
Source: EBRO Audax Motorsport
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