Stage 6 of the 2026 Dakar Rally offered a reminder of why sand remains one of the event’s great equalisers. After days of rock and broken terrain, the rally shifted entirely onto dunes for its longest stage so far — 915 kilometres from Hail to Riyadh, with 326 kilometres against the clock.

For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC, it was a day of damage limitation, measured pace, and staying in the fight.

Two DKR GR Hilux finished inside the top four, and while none claimed the stage win, the team emerged with its overall ambitions firmly intact.

From rock to sand

The move to pure dunes changed the rhythm of the rally instantly. Navigation became the defining factor, with visibility, dust, and line choice playing a greater role than outright speed.

After leading the rally heading into the stage, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings found themselves paying the price for small mistakes in the soft terrain. Time lost through the dunes dropped them to 12th on the day, but they remain second overall — just over six minutes behind the new leaders.

With nearly 2,500 kilometres still to run, the rally is far from settled.

Podium pace for Quintero

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short delivered Toyota’s strongest result of the stage, finishing third after running near the front throughout.

Despite losing time after missing a waypoint, the #203 Hilux recovered well and crossed the line only 21 seconds behind second place. It was their second podium finish of the rally, even if their overall position remains compromised by earlier punctures.

In Dakar terms, it was a classic Quintero stage: fast, aggressive, and technically demanding.

Price and consistency

Toby Price and Armand Monleón also produced a strong performance, finishing fourth after fighting for a podium position across much of the stage.

They now sit 15th overall and remain within reach of the top ten — a realistic target for a crew still building experience in the Ultimate category.

Across all three cars, the theme was consistent: no disasters, no retirements, and steady pressure applied to the leaders.

The strategic value of survival

After more than 2,000 kilometres in seven days, the Dakar reached its rest day — always a psychological milestone as much as a physical one.

Stage 7 will resume with an 876-kilometre route to Wadi ad-Dawasir, including 462 kilometres of competitive driving. Difficult terrain and long distances remain, and for teams still in contention, simply arriving at this point without major losses is often the real victory.

Toyota leaves Stage 6 with two cars in the top four on the day, one car second overall, and all crews still operational.

In a rally where attrition defines outcomes, that matters more than any single stage result.

Key Quotes

Henk Lategan:
“It was a tricky day for us. The first part started okay, and we were running at Nasser’s pace, but we made a couple of mistakes in terms of our line through the dunes. So, it could have been a bit better. But we have a nice road position for when we resume on Sunday and there are some difficult stages coming up, so things can still change. To be close to the lead at this stage is pretty good considering how our rally started. We’ve pulled ourselves back into it and now we’ll give it our best shot in the second week.”

Seth Quintero:
“It was a good day for us. We started out front and finished out front. We could push nicely at the beginning. At one stage we had to turn around for a waypoint and that cost us a minute, which was unfortunate. From there, we kept up a good pace, passed a couple of other cars, and had a fun battle. We charged really hard. It’s impressive what the DKR GR Hilux can take because we pushed it very hard today. We drove over 900 km in total today, so I am definitely tired and ready for a rest day.”

Toby Price:
“The stage today went well. There was just so much sand and, starting where we did, it was brutal. It’s been a crazy first week, but we are still in the race. Last year we made it to this point and only did one more stage, so the goal is to get past that and keep getting experience. Next week will be as challenging as the first week, I’m sure, but I feel good physically and the car is going well, so we are happy.”