Dakar 2026: SA 1-2 on Stage 8 as Variawa wins

We recap Stage 8 of the 2026 Dakar Rally, which took place on 12 January.

Saood Variawa claimed a second Dakar stage win on the eighth special. Image: Toyota

Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa) clinched a victory on Stage 8 of the 2026 Dakar Rally, his second career win after becoming the youngest ever winner of a stage in the car category during the 2025 edition of the world’s toughest rally raid.

Monday’s 721 km loop stage around Wadi ad Dawasir had South African Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) trade top checkpoint times with American Mitch Guthrie (Ford Racing), before Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Dacia Sandriders) briefly registered the quickest time by the 223 km.

By the next checkpoint at 267 km, Lategan had regained the lead, but right at the end, it was South African Saood Variawa who clinched the fastest time, three seconds ahead of his compatriot Lategan.

“It’s a second stage win, which is incredible. The car was perfect on a very long stage on which it was difficult to keep up with the pace. In the dunes, we navigated well while a lot of others got lost. At times we went our own way and perhaps that’s where we made a difference. We pushed and overtook other cars.”

Mattias Ekstrom was the leading Ford at the finish, just 29 seconds adrift of Variawa, while Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders) rounded off the top five at the bivouac. Al Attiyah still leads the overall rankings, with Ekstrom four minutes off and Lategan in the final provisional podium spot, six minutes eight seconds off the leader.

Tuesday’s Stage 9 is the second marathon stage of this year’s Dakar, with a 410 km special and 122 km of liaison, after which competitors will once again not have the support of their teams and receive basic rations.

Browse thousands of new and used vehicles here with CARmag!

The post Dakar 2026: SA 1-2 on Stage 8 as Variawa wins appeared first on CAR Magazine.