Try to keep on believing

Dakar 2026 | Stage 4 | ALULA > BIVOUAC REFUGE
January 7 ^th 2026 - 08:06 [GMT + 3]

Although she was hoping to be able to finish her fifth Dakar on the podium, Dania Akeel lost more than two hours on the third stage, meaning her dreams have crumbled to dust. Unless…

 When Dania Akeel and Sébastien Delaunay reached the finishing line on the special during stage three of the rally, night had almost fallen. Their finishing time fell like a thunderclap: Taurus number 301 closed the stage in thirtieth place, in the Challenger class, two hours and twenty minutes behind the winner, namely Puck Klassen. In a tale of ecstasy and agony, the Dutchwoman picked up her first stage victory as the Saudi driver saw her dreams of a podium finish shattered. “Today, I lost the race,” was Dania’s sober reflection, before asking her navigator: “You’re on your sixteenth Dakar… how do you do it?” Competition as well as racing are often cruel and rally-raids are even more so. “Looking back, the first two days weren’t too bad,” she grimaced. Since the start, the Saudi and the Frenchman have been beset with problems. Following repeated punctures over the first two days, this time it was an engine problem that cost them plenty of time. “There was a problem with the Turbo,” said Dania. “We don’t know exactly what, so we’ll have to see at the bivouac. Sébastien managed to repair it, but then we had a puncture. It’s been a tough day…” The incident was even more difficult to digest given that their performance at the start of the stage allowed the Taurus crew to claw back a decent number of positions. “During the first 100 kilometres, we caught most of the competitors in our category,” says Dania. “But unfortunately, we had too many punctures. We had to wait for spare parts and here we are with at least two hours lost. It was just one of those days… The Dakar is not an easy race but we have ten stages left and we’ll see where that takes us. Two hours lost, though, it’s a lot… I don’t think it’s possible to carry on believing in a podium finish”. While waiting to see what the rest of the race has in store for her, Dania plans to enjoy the atmosphere at the bivouac to take the drama out of this awful day and recharge her batteries, with the aim of securing at least one stage victory.