Reigning SSV Rally-Raid World Champion Alexandre Pinto won today’s Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally 2026 among the SSV drivers contesting the W2RC (World Rally-Raid Championship). Co-driven by fellow World Champion Bernardo Oliveira, the Portuguese driver — at the wheel of the #400 Polaris RZR — set the second-fastest time among the SSVs on the 305-kilometre timed special starting and finishing in Yanbu. That result puts the Old Friends Rally Team crew at the top of the World Championship standings for the first time and earns them the medals awarded to the winners of the day’s stage in the championship.
“It was a clean stage for us with no problems. It was a stage where it was very easy to damage the car. There were a lot of rocks and it demanded a lot of attention. It was an easy stage, but at the same time easy to damage the car. A stage that was fun in parts and very tough in others because of the rocks. We finished the first stage well, running a conservative pace, which is what’s required at the start of the Dakar, but this was only the beginning,” said Alexandre Pinto at the end of the selective section.
Stage 2, linking Yanbu to AlUla, will feature a 400-kilometre selective section. Over the first 200 kilometres, the pace will change repeatedly, alternating between very fast stretches and areas where corners and rocky sectors prevent drivers from maintaining a constant speed for long periods. After leaving the mountainous terrain, average speeds increase towards the finish line.
Source: Official press release via www.todoterreno.pt
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