Stage 4 & 5 Al Ula → Ha’il Marathon

Today is the first of the two “marathon-refuge” stages in the 2026 edition.

← Stage 3

Stage 6 →

Last updated on January 13, 2026 13:07 UTC

ℹ️ Racing Stage info ℹ️

Racing Stage 4 Marathon day 1

Al Ula → Bivuaque Refuge

Marathon first stage

Tonight, the field will spend the night in a bare-bones bivouac (with just a tent, a mattress, a down and a ration pack) all on their own, without service crews.

Liaison > 78 km

Special > 417 km

This means they’ll have to take care of any necessary repairs and will not have their usual stock of parts. There will be separate bivouacs…

Racing Stage 5 Marathon day 2

Bivuaque Refuge → Ha’il

Marathon second stage

As on the previous day, split courses will put everyone into action at the first light of dawn, which should particularly affect the navigators of the first cars, forced to find their way without the motorcycle tracks. This detail is important because, while this second part of the marathon is generally faster, some sections are full of changes of direction.

Liaison > 58 km

Special > 356 km

A few sections on rocky terrain will also require sacrificing a few seconds rather than losing a whole lot of minutes, or even worse.

📝 Team De Rooy FPT Battles Through First Dakar Rally Marathon, Heads Into Final Stage Before Rest Day With Confidence 📝

HAIL – Two grueling days, a bivouac in the middle of the desert with no service, and plenty of bad luck: the first marathon stage of the Dakar Rally turned into a war of attrition for Ales Loprais and Vaidotas Zala of Team De Rooy FPT. Both truck drivers were glad to roll into the bivouac in Hail on Thursday. Fortunately, the damage was limited: Loprais finished fourth on both days, while Zala came in third and fifth.

“It was one of the toughest stages I’ve ever raced,” Loprais said. “We had to do a lot of work on the truck Wednesday night at the bivouac. We had transmission issues and some fuel problems. It’s a miracle we’re still running.”

📝 #602 Instatrade Loprais Team de Rooy FPT 📝

Ales Loprais

Jiri Stross

David Kripal

Gearbox Trouble

The gearbox started acting up early on the first marathon day, costing Loprais and his crew valuable time and a good starting position for Thursday. “The gearbox quit on us four times, so we drove in third gear four times. That was tough because the truck just didn’t have the same grip, and we had to make sure the second axle didn’t break,” the Czech driver explained.”

“We also lost some time when we got stuck in the dust behind other vehicles. But I’m grateful we made it here. And now I believe we’ll finally have our first clean stage without any mechanical issues and finish where we belong. I believe we’ll get a good result and that our luck’s about to change.”

📝 #604 Nørdis Team de Rooy FPT 📝

Really Tough Days

Vaidotas Žala

Paulo Fiuza

Max van Grol

Teammate Zala called them ‘really tough days’. “It was 800 kilometers of stages, lots of rocky terrain. We really had to stay on top of our tires. The first day went fairly well, but thirty kilometers before the finish, we got our first flat. Then we found out the spare tire had a rim that didn’t fit, so we had to put on the other spare.”

That meant taking it easy on Thursday’s second leg. “But today we got our first flat just fifty kilometers after the start. We only had one spare left, so we had to slow down to make it to the finish.”

But Zala ended up with another flat anyway. “We had a puncture with a rock stuck in the tire. It was leaking slowly. We couldn’t swap it out, so that rock was stuck in there for 200 kilometers. It wasn’t until the final fifty kilometers that the rock came loose and the hole got bigger. Luckily, you can keep driving with a slow leak as long as your compressor pumps in more air than you’re losing. But we were counting down those last kilometers. We’re looking forward to the rest day.”