Dacia has confirmed that it will compete in the entire 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship before bringing its project to a close at the season-ending event in Abu Dhabi – ruling out a return to the Dakar in 2027.
The tracks had barely cleared in the desert following the latest triumph for Dacia at the 2026 Dakar when the brand decided to bring the curtain down on its rally-raid adventure. Following several direct conversations with the brand, Dacia has confirmed to Motorsport.com that the Sandrider project will conclude at the end of the 2026 season. The final round will be Abu Dhabi and, as a result, participation in the 2027 Dakar has been completely ruled out.
The news comes just weeks after the brand conquered the 2026 Rally Dakar with Nasser Al-Attiyah at the wheel. The founding objective of the programme – to win the Dakar within a three-year cycle – was achieved in just two. And now, far from easing off, the ambition is to complete the circle by securing the World Rally-Raid Championship title.
Full championship campaign before farewell
Dacia will contest every remaining round of the 2026 championship. Portugal will be the next stop in a month’s time, before heading to Argentina, Morocco and concluding the season in Abu Dhabi – the venue that will mark the final chapter of the Dacia Sandriders project.
The team will field three cars per event, despite having four top-level drivers: Nasser Al-Attiyah himself, Sebastien Loeb – the major signing ahead of the last Dakar – Lucas Moraes – 2025 rally raid world champion with Toyota – and Cristina Gutierrez. The team will decide on an event-by-event basis which three line-ups compete, and which driver will sit out the action, in an internal rotation that keeps the competitive tension fully intact.
A Dakar win that validates the project
Photo by: A.S.O.
Beyond Al-Attiyah’s overall victory, the latest Dakar reinforced the solidity of the project. Loeb finished fourth, Moraes seventh and Gutierrez 11th. Four cars inside the top 11 in one of the most demanding and competitive editions of recent years.
A collective result that confirmed the Sandrider was not a one-off bet, but a structure capable of fighting as a unit against the giants of the desert.
With that sporting endorsement and the Dakar trophy already secured, the major objective now is to conquer the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship and bow out in style. If the team succeeds, Dacia will close a brief but extraordinarily successful chapter: winning the toughest rally on the planet at the second attempt and fighting until the very end for the world title before bringing the curtain down.
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