Romain Dumas: “Always well placed at some point in the specials”

Dakar 2026 | Stage 11 | BISHA > AL HENAKIYAH
January 15 ^th 2026 - 14:29 [GMT + 3]

Romain Dumas has achieved his best result in the race. The Frenchman had never finished higher than fifth place on a special. After registering in the world championship this season, he may be back with Ford Racing, which has signed him up for its 2026 team.

 “Finally, we had a stage without any problems. We didn't get lost, although there were one or two occasions where we could have performed better. We were also lucky with the dust. Every time we caught up with someone, they let us pass. It was a change from the previous ten stages, where we really struggled. I saw Ekstrom at the neutralised zone and I tried to push hard in the second half. It wasn't enough, but we had a great time and that's what matters. Doing the Dakar once every two years on the fly isn't easy, the level is incredibly high. But for the last two or three days, we've seen that we're among the fastest, always well placed at some point in the specials, without managing to capitalise on it, which we haven't managed to do again today as we're second. But we'll try again tomorrow. Even if starting second is going to be a bit more complicated”.