Riyadh, Jan. 5 -- Spain's Edgar Canet of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing won Stage 1 of the 2026 Dakar Rally, tightening his grip on the overall lead after the first full day of racing around the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.
Stage 1 featured a 305-kilometer timed special and 213 km of liaison. Canet clocked 3 hours, 16 minutes, and 11 seconds to take the motorcycle stage win, beating teammate Daniel Sanders by one minute and two seconds, with Monster Energy Honda HRC rider Ricky Brabec finishing third, 1:32 behind the winner.
Botswana's Ross Branch posted the fastest riding time on the special, but a six-minute speeding penalty dropped him out of the battle for victory.
With the prologue included, Canet led the overall motorcy...