The opening week of the 2026 Dakar Rally came to a close on Friday with Stage 6, taking competitors from Ha’il to Riyadh over a demanding route dominated by technical dunes and complex navigation. For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa, the focus was firmly on consolidating positions, managing the cars through a tough stage, and reaching the Rest Day in strong shape after an intense opening six days of racing.
João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (#240) delivered another strong performance, finishing fifth on the stage at +4:56 from the winner. Despite encountering more dunes than expected, the Portuguese duo maintained a high pace throughout the day and avoided major mistakes, capitalising on a car that performed faultlessly in challenging conditions.
“It was a good, very long day, with much more dunes than we were expecting,” said Ferreira. “But we finished the stage quite well and the car performed very, very well. Now it’s time to rest.”
Palmeiro echoed those sentiments, highlighting the difficulty of the navigation and the importance of minimising losses as the rally reaches its halfway point. The result sees Ferreira and Palmeiro head into the Rest Day 12th overall, just under 32 minutes from the overall lead.
Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena (#218) continued their steady climb with a ninth-place finish on Stage 6, only 7:08 off the fastest time. The pair looked increasingly comfortable in the dunes, finding a solid rhythm and maintaining strong pace without unnecessary risk.
“Good day for us in the dunes, really happy with our performance,” said Botterill. “The car is in good condition and it was really cool to get some nice dunes under our belt. Now we head into the Rest Day and get ready for the second week.”
After six stages, Botterill and Mena sit 17th overall, just over an hour from the lead, having put a difficult middle phase of the rally behind them.
For Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet (#213), Stage 6 was shaped by fuel management in the closing kilometres. The young South African showed good pace early on, but was forced to back off late in the stage to ensure the GR Hilux IMT Evo reached the finish.
“We had a good pace at the start,” said Variawa. “But in the last 40 kilometres we had to save fuel, otherwise we wouldn’t have made it to the end. It wasn’t the best stage for us, but the car is in one piece and that’s the most important thing.”
Cazalet added that the crew reduced pace significantly over the final section, switching off systems to conserve fuel, but was satisfied to reach Riyadh without further issues. Variawa and Cazalet finished the day in 14th position, +10:30 from the stage winner, and remain well placed 11th overall heading into the Rest Day at +28:41.
With Stage 6 complete, Dakar 2026 now pauses in Riyadh before the rally resumes with seven stages still to come, including a second Marathon Stage. The route will feature more extensive dune sections as the race heads south towards Wadi Ad Dawasir, before turning north-east for the final push back to Yanbu, where the rally concludes on 17 January.
Source: TGRSA
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