Hélder Rodrigues finished today’s 10th stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally in 7th place in the SSV category, at the wheel of his Polaris, on a particularly demanding day that formed the second part of the marathon stage. The day ended at the bivouac set up in Bisha. The special stage featured 371 timed kilometres, run over an extremely tough route, highlighted by a long dune sector. Across both legs of this marathon stage, the former motorcycle world champion was 4th among the W2RC (World Rally-Raid Championship) registered riders, which allowed him to score 4 points.
Riding a Polaris RZR PRO entered by Santag Racing, the Portuguese rider, navigated by Gonçalo Reis, maintained a consistent pace throughout the stage, once again finishing the day in seventh in his category—matching the result achieved the day before. At the end of the stage, Hélder Rodrigues gave a positive assessment of the two marathon days:
“We finished the marathon stage days with two 7th places and an improvement in our race pace. Yesterday we started 116th overall and, even in the dust, we managed to go well. Today was a very tough day, but we tried to keep a consistent pace. Tomorrow we’ll try to improve our race,” Hélder Rodrigues reported upon arriving in Bisha.
The 2026 Dakar Rally continues tomorrow with Stage 11, which will link Bisha to Al Henakiyah, over 347 timed kilometres. This stage will be marked by a high number of crossings, forks and junctions, potentially making the route labyrinth-like. Clear visibility, precise navigation and sustained concentration will be decisive in avoiding incidents and reaching the Al Henakiyah camp, especially given the stage’s overall distance.
Official Press Release
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