During the eighth stage of the Dakar 2026, Sébastien Loeb and his co-driver Édouard Boulanger experienced a decisive turning point, but not in the way they had hoped. While they were on track for a solid performance, a small navigation error derailed their race, pushing them further away from the podium.
A Promising Stage
The eighth stage of Dakar 2026 was shaping up to be an ideal playground for the drivers, with a course stretching 480 kilometers, mixing dunes and fast tracks. At the start, Loeb seemed well-positioned to make up for his deficit in the overall standings. He was even leading at the fifth waypoint, showing a pace that could have brought him closer to the leaders. But as often happens in the desert, one mistake can radically change the situation.
A Fatal Navigation Error
About 70-80 kilometers from the finish, a navigation error in the last part of the stage proved very costly for Loeb. He finished more than three minutes behind surprise winner Saood Variawa and now finds himself 17 minutes and 25 seconds behind his teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah in the overall standings. Despite this setback, the nine-time WRC champion keeps smiling. “It’s long, though, 480 [km]. […] Overall, we had a nice special stage. We just made a navigation error at the end that cost us two or three minutes, I think.”
A Persistent Confusion
Édouard Boulanger, his co-driver, did not hide his perplexity regarding this error. “Yeah, I need to understand that one,” he stated after the finish, clearly troubled by the nature of their mishap. “There was clearly a note that said ‘Climb right on a sand tongue’.” The crew tried to follow the instructions but ultimately found themselves in a dead end. “I’ll look at the onboards and then the roadbook to understand what went wrong.”
Regrets but a Fighting Spirit
Despite this blunder, Loeb remains positive. “Honestly, I still don’t understand what went wrong because the sand climb that was indicated, we never did.” This type of situation is common in races as demanding as the Dakar. Navigation errors can be costly, especially when the competition is so tight. “It costs us two minutes, I think, so that’s a bit frustrating.” But Loeb’s fighting spirit seems intact.
The Nature of the Course and Its Challenges
In an interview, Loeb shared his thoughts on the course: “There’s not much you can do to try to create gaps. As I said, you have to avoid mistakes like that: there, we give away two or three free minutes, [after having] worked hard throughout a special stage to catch up and we lose them stupidly.” Despite his difficulties, he prefers this type of course to more monotonous ones: “I prefer this to driving over rocks at 40 miles per hour. So no, it’s a beautiful special stage.”
Conclusion: An Uncertain Race
With this type of error and the fierce competition within the Dakar, every minute counts. Loeb remains in sixth place overall, but nothing is decided as long as the rally continues. The upcoming stages will be crucial for him and his crew. The Dakar is a marathon, not a sprint, and each day can bring its share of surprises. It remains to be seen if the nine-time champion will manage to correct his course and get closer to the leaders in the days to come.
