Jordi Juvanteny, José Luis Criado and Xavier Ribas get through a particularly complex day between Yanbu and Al Ula, with difficult navigation, very narrow tracks and plenty of rocks.
The team secures third place and adds 10 more points in its category.
Criado: “It was a typical Dakar stage, with very complicated navigation. At one point we got lost, but we managed to get back on the right route.”
A day of contrasts for the KH-7 ECOVERGY Team in Mission 1000. In the second stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally, Jordi Juvanteny, José Luis Criado and Xavi Ribas managed to finish in a creditable third position after overcoming a navigation mistake.
From the very first kilometres, the 91-kilometre special required maximum concentration due to the abundance of rocks on the course and very narrow sections—an added handicap for the team’s MAN 6x6. The navigation difficulty led the KH-7 ECOVERGY Team into confusion at one point on the route, causing them to lose time before finding the correct track and getting back up to speed.
Despite this, the crew handled the day with caution and experience and completed another stage, adding highly valuable kilometres to continue validating—under real race conditions—the truck’s new hydrogen-and-electric hybrid system, developed by EVARM, the company led by Xavi Ribas.
The result is 10 more points in Mission 1000, taking the team to 30 points and, provisionally, fifth place in the overall standings, tied with the team in fourth.
“It was a tough stage, typical Dakar, with very complicated navigation. At one point we got lost and lost some time, but we managed to recover the route. In these conditions, experience makes the difference,” explains co-driver José Luis Criado.
Jordi Juvanteny, for his part, highlights the overall difficulty of the day: “The tracks were very narrow and very rocky, so we had to be very careful not to puncture. Even so, we managed to avoid the obstacles and complete the stage, which was the important thing to keep adding kilometres and points.”
Stage three of the 2026 Dakar Rally will be a loop stage starting and finishing in Al Ula, with 87 kilometres of special stage and 160 kilometres of liaison, in another day that will once again test both the crew and the truck’s reliability on their path to keep making history in Mission 1000.
Source: KH-7 EVOVERGY Team via Todoterreno.pt
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