RACE SUMMARY

Hero MotoSports Team Rally - the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, Hero MotoCorp – delivered a remarkable performance at the first special Stage of the Dakar Rally 2026, with two of three riders finishing in the top-10.

Competing in the premier Rally GP category, Chilean rider Nacho Cornejo crossed the finish line with a solid 6th fastest time of the day. Despite finishing the Stage with the fastest time, an unfortunate time penalty pushed Botswana’s Ross Branch down to the 7th position. Austrian Tobias Ebster, competing in Rally2, crossed the finish line at 14th place, while also securing an impressive 4th place in his category.

At the end of Stage 1, Cornejo and Branch are placed 6th and 7th respectively in the overall Rally classifications. Ebster currently holds 13th place overall, and 4th in Rally2, keeping himself among the top contenders in the category.

Ross Branch was the fastest man on the Stage, riding tall with a commanding display of speed and control. The Kalahari Ferrari was stuck in the dust behind another competitor for some period, and an opportunity to overtake arrived in a speed-controlled zone. Although the airline pilot crossed the finish line first with a strong 1.5 minute lead, a hefty six-minute speeding penalty was slapped on later. Ross is currently just under 5 minutes from the leader of the race, and hopes to recover lost time in the upcoming Stages.

Nacho Cornejo was one of the first competitors on Stage 1, and delivered an outstanding performance all through the day. Soon after the 70-kilometre mark, the Chilean caught up with the frontrunners, and then continued to open the tracks for the remaining route. Riding solo with strong composure, and navigating with great precision, Nacho has earned his well-deserved spot in the Rally’s overall top-10.

For Tobias Ebster, the day proved to be a true test of Dakar instincts. The Austrian aced complex navigation through rocky wadis, and still managed to finish just outside the top-10 of the day. A sandstorm erased the tracks ahead of him, forcing the promising young rider to rely on his navigation skills. Nevertheless, his strong finish on Stage 1 places Ebster at a good starting position for the next one.

On the first ‘real’ Stage of Dakar 2026, competitors tackled a demanding 518 km loop around Yanbu, which included 305 km in timed special. The route offered a wide variety of terrain - featuring rocky hard-packed sections, fast sandy stretches, and scattered dunes.