WADI AD DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia — Oodles of talent, metronomic consistency and a pinch of good luck make up the recipe for Dakar success.
Whether he can contend for the title in the six remaining stages or not, Mattias Ekström proved again Sunday that he has all the necessary ingredients. The Swede claimed his seventh Dakar stage win, leaving João Ferreira and Mitch Guthrie 4′27″ and 4′55″ behind. He has never been too far from the lead since the rally began in Yanbu. Today, everything fell into place for him to move up another level in the provisional standings, where he now trails Nasser Al Attiyah by 4′47″.
As a five-time winner of the race, the leader has many cards to play. It was not raw speed that did the trick for him, as he only finished eleventh; rather, the top Dacia Sandrider driver saw the wind that sweeps Wadi ad-Dawasir turn in his favor. His closest rival, Henk Lategan, was on the verge of wresting the overall lead from him for the vast majority of the stage, setting the scene for a vicious duel between the Hilux and the Sandrider, when disaster struck at km 428 and the South African had to stop for almost ten minutes. It was enough for him to lose the stage win and fall outside the provisional podium (fourth at 7′21″). Al Attiyah can rest a bit easier.
Mattias Ekström was far from the only Ford Raptor driver in top form. Nani Roma did everything that was expected from him and then some more. The Catalan retained third place overall after Lategan ran into trouble. Roma even cut his deficit to Al Attiyah by about one minute to 7′15″. Unlike his teammate, he will have a great start position in the longest special of the 2026 Dakar tomorrow.
