The Catalan rider completed the first part of the marathon without any significant setbacks on a day marked by heavy traffic on the track and excessive dust in the air.
As a precaution, and taking advantage of the pit stop located halfway through the special stage, Font decided to change a suspension tie rod, a move that relegated him to 27th place in the Challenger category.
“Today we knew that the goal was to finish and that we had to be especially careful, because we don't have assistance at the bivouac-refuge. We're happy; we got through the stage well.”
Joan Font and his co-driver, Adrià Guillem, continue to fight in the 2026 Dakar Rally, although no longer as the third vehicle of the BE Racing team. Following confirmation of the withdrawal of the two drivers they were assisting, Hamza Bakhashab and Abdullah Alshegawi from the Saudi Next Gen program, today marked the start of another Dakar for them, in which their main challenge will be to reach the finish line in Yanbu.
Tuesday was the marathon stage, the second of this 2026 edition, a day that proved crucial both for the contenders for the final victory and for those teams whose main objective is to stay in the race. In it, the driver from Vic opted for a clearly conservative approach, prioritizing avoiding any mistakes that could compromise his continuity in the event.
It was not a comfortable stage for the Catalan. In the first section, he suffered from the traffic on the track—always surrounded by trucks and side-by-sides—and from the poor visibility caused by the dust. Added to this was the decision to replace a suspension strut at the pit stop, a preventive maneuver that, although necessary, caused him to lose several positions in the standings.
“It was a tough stage for us. There was a lot of traffic and dust, and that slowed us down quite a bit. Today, we knew that the goal was to finish and that we had to be especially careful because we don't have assistance at the bivouac-refuge. We're happy; we got through the stage well,” said Font after finishing the day in 27th place in the Challenger category.
In the final section, the Catalan driver also had some difficulty overcoming a complicated area of dunes: “We were coming from a rockier part with very inflated tires and we had some problems in the dunes. They were very high and we found them a bit of an uphill struggle,” he acknowledged. The positive note of the day was the smooth performance of the new rear suspension—which gave him quite a few headaches yesterday—something essential considering that tonight they will have to personally take care of the setup of their Can-Am Maverick X3.
Font faces the last third of the rally in the top 25 of the overall Challenger category standings and still has a chance of completing his eighth Dakar, which would undoubtedly be a great result after what happened last year, when he was only able to finish in the Dakar Experience category. The first hurdle he will have to overcome to achieve this will be Wednesday's stage, the second part of the marathon, which will include a good dose of dunes. A new test that, if he passes it, will bring him a little closer to his big goal.
Source: Joan Font Press
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