Neels Theric: “I was lucky to have the wind behind me”

Dakar 2026 | Stage 8 | WADI AD DAWASIR > WADI AD DAWASIR
January 12 ^th 2026 - 13:31 [GMT + 3]

Neels Theric has won his third Rally 2 stage, benefiting from the misfortunes of his rivals, namely Michael Docherty's crash. The Frenchman has accepted he will not fight for outright triumph on this Dakar but he could well be one of the revelations of the 48th edition when it arrives in Yanbu.

 “I feel great. The rest day did me good. Yesterday I paid a bit for having a less powerful engine, but today the special was very fast overall, but also very varied with sand, rocks, winding sections and other very fast parts. I really enjoyed myself and managed to catch up with the two riders who started ahead of me this morning. On the fast sections, I was lucky to have the wind behind me. The prologue and my tyre problem on stage 3, where I picked up penalties, are frustrating, but that's racing, everyone has mishaps. For me, it’s over for the overall rankings result, but I'm trying to perform well on every stage”."