…despite an unusual navigation setback
Riding a Husqvarna 450 Rally, Bruno Santos successfully completed the first part of the second marathon stage of the Dakar Rally, the toughest event in world off-road racing. For the first time in this 2026 edition, the rider supported by Frutas Patrícia Pilar faced a genuine navigation issue. The stage featured a 410-kilometre timed selective section, contested mostly on rocky terrain and finishing with a demanding dune crossing.
“It was a stage where I made a navigation mistake. We were on tracks further to the right than we were supposed to be. There was a waypoint ahead and the track made a corner and then went right again. I started drifting left to try to understand, and when I picked up the track I went left again and kept going for the distance I thought would be enough to reach the waypoint, but I didn’t see it. I went back to the other side to check if I was heading in a different direction. And I spent a lot of time searching. It’s a shame because I lost a lot of time there. If I had avoided that mistake, I would have moved up quite a bit. I’m happy to be here and to have had no problems,” the rider said on arrival at the marathon bivouac. Supported by Momento TT, he retains 8th place in Rally2 and also remains in the Top 20 of the overall general classification, a position he has held since Stage 4.
Today, the Dakar caravan faces the 10th stage of the competition, the second part of the marathon leg, taking competitors from tonight’s camp to Bisha, with 371 kilometres against the clock. It is a section featuring an extensive dune sector.
Source: Official Press Release
Photo: EdoPhoto
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