We recap Stage 4 of the 2026 Dakar Rally, which took place on 7 January.
South African Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) won the first half of the marathon stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally on Wednesday, 7 January, closing in on the overall leaders. Qatari five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders) was second fastest, with Pole Marek Goczał (Energylandia Rally Team) finishing third.
Frenchman Sébastien Loeb was quickest out of the gates the morning, reaching the 43 km checkpoint (27 minutes 17 seconds) first in his Dacia Sandrider, with South African Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa) hot on the WRC legend’s heels by just one second. Henk Lategan was 12 seconds behind, with fellow South African Brian Baragwanath clocking exactly the same time as Lategan by that point. Loeb’s teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah was seven seconds off the duo in front of him, with defending Dakar champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi 11 seconds behind the Al-Attiyah.
Lategan would go on to take the lead in Stage 4 at the 89 km mark, with Dacia Sandriders’ Al-Attiyah and Loeb 46 and 57 seconds behind, respectively, while the Hiluxes of Variawa, Al-Rajhi and Eryck Goczał (Energylandia Rally Team) were trailed by Mattias Ekström (Ford Racing), and the Century Racing CR7s of Brian Baragwanath and Mathieu Serradori. Guillaume de Mévius’ X-Raid Mini was 10th fastest.
Over the next 200 km, Lategan would lead the fourth Dakar stage across seven checkpoints, while seven Toyotas were in the top 10 at the 262 km mark; only broken by the Dacias of Al-Attiyah and Loeb, with Serradori running eighth quickest. The Gozał family were closing in on the leaders, with Marek running third quickest, his brother, Michal, fifth, and son, Eryk, seventh.
Lategan was in a class of his own all day after suffering multiple punctures on 6 January’s Stage 3. The 2024 South African Rally Raid Champion left the AlUla bivouac in 23rd position and passed the competition to claw back some vital time in the overall standings by opening a 7 minute and 3 seconds lead over Al-Attiyah. Loeb was one of the biggest losers on the day, having run near the front for the majority of the day and then falling to 18th quickest at the 418 km checkpoint. Spaniard Laia Sanz was running ninth fastest at 418 km in her Ebro Audax Motorsport S800 XRR.
For Thursday, 8 January’s Stage 5, the Dakar field moves further inland towards Hail, with the car category facing 56 km of liaison and a 371 km special stage, and another day of split courses, which means the frontrunners won’t have the benefit of following motorcycle tracks and the co-drivers will have their navigation prowess put to the test.
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Also read
- 2026 Dakar Rally: Ford’s Mitch Guthrie takes overall lead with Stage 3 win
- All the South Africans competing in the 2026 Dakar Rally
- 2026 Dakar Rally: Seth Quintero wins Stage 2 for Toyota Gazoo Racing WR2C
- 2026 Dakar Rally: Guillaume De Mévius Wins Stage 1 for X-Raid Team
- 2026 Dakar Rally: Mattias Ekström Wins Prologue for Ford
