January 4, 2026

2026 Dakar UK Coverage

2026 Dakar UK Coverage : The 2026 Edition of the Dakar runs from 3rd January - 17th January 2026 - Here is how to stay up to date in the UK.

By TomBoyNI

2026 Dakar UK Coverage :

One of the more exciting events in motorsports is coming. The perfect way to bring in the New Year! The 48th Edition of the Dakar is about to start!

The Start Ramp and Prologue will be held on Saturday 3rd January 2026, with Stage 1 taking place on Sunday 4th January 2026.

The Dakar is one of the, if not the, most famous endurance races on the planet and with everything from bikes to trucks taking on one of the toughest navigation rallies ever conceived there is something for every genre of motorsport fan.

This year the route has been described by the Dakar Organisation as :

With the 2026 edition’s route, we are certainly at the highest standards, as the record for kilometres covered in special stages, in the time the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia, will be nearly matched. Drivers and crews will not escape fatigue, and they must also demonstrate their skill in handling all types of sand, and tracks of all kinds. On the other hand, the decision to reduce the number of bivouacs means they will be greeted by support teams that are more often rested and ready to go as soon as they arrive.
Along with the variety of challenges, a concern for balance also guided the route’s design. Therefore, the introduction of a new variant of marathon stages, with an overnight stay in a bivouac, required that one be set up in the middle of each week of the race. Similarly, intense stages are followed by opportunities to take a breather on both sides of the rest day, while not striving for absolute symmetry.

YANBU, A REGULAR STOP
Dakar competitors became acquainted with Yanbu in the final stretch of the 2021 edition. And it was also near this town that the first Sea Camp was established in 2023, adopting the concept of an XXL bivouac that brought together all the event’s participants in one location in the days leading up to the race. Since then, Yanbu has also hosted the final stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally. It is now the starting point for a vast loop, which will end as it begins: to the sound of the gentle lapping of the Red Sea waves.

2026 Dakar Route :

2026 Dakar UK Coverage :

In previous years, in the UK, we had Eurosport for our Dakar Coverage and whilst it was only an hourly show in the evening, the dulcet tones of Carlton Kirby keep us well updated, and well informed with all the happenings of that day.

Unfortunately now Eurosport is no more and the biggest problem (of what has to be one of the world’s biggest motorsports events) is coverage.

For such a massive event the coverage is just about mediocre. That is something that is voiced all over the internet, every single year, so it is something that ranting about it here won’t fix, but hopefully at some point the Organisation take note and take measures to put decent coverage in place for the fans.

In saying that, there are limited options to stay up to date in the UK :

There is NO LIVESTREAMING for the Dakar rally. Any links claiming to have a paid stream are a SCAM!

Autosport + : Autosport + will have a daily 52 minute show featuring the extended highlights of the day. This is a subscription service that costs $5.99 / month or $49.99 / year. (Not affiliated to TBNI.Blog)
Discovery+ / TNT Sports : if you subscribe to Discovery+ with / or TNT Sports you will have access to the daily show (approx 1hr).
Live Timing : Living Timing can be found here : Live Timing/Tracking | Alternative Timing/Tracking | Alternative Timing/Tracking 2 | Alternative Timing/Tracking 3
Dakar Official Youtube Channel : Dakar Youtube Channel
Dakar Official App : Dakar 2026 App
Red Bull YouTube Channel : Red Bull TV & Red Bull Rally
131 Offroad : 131 OffRoad
Dirtfish : DirtFish
Autosport Website : Autosport