Riyadh, January 5 (QNA) - Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah has taken the provisional lead in the ultimate category of the 2026 Dakar Rally, the 48th edition of the event, which is being hosted by Saudi Arabia for the seventh consecutive year, with 812 competitors participating.

Al Attiyah capitalized on his consistent performance to move into the lead overall, recording a time of 7 hours, 12 minutes, and 16 seconds, after finishing eighth in Monday's second stage. He is seven seconds ahead of American Seth Quintero, winner of today's stage and second overall, one minute and nine seconds ahead of Belgian Guillaume de Mevius, winner of yesterday's first stage and third overall, one minute and 28 seconds ahead of South African Henk Latigan, fourth overall, and one minute and 57 seconds ahead of Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, fifth overall.

Monday's competition featured the second stage of the rally, a 400-kilometer route connecting Yanbu and Al-Ula, including a 104-kilometer liaison section. American Seth Quintero topped the stage with a time of 3 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds, finishing 1 minute and 42 seconds ahead of South African Henk Latigan in second place, and 1 minute and 56 seconds ahead of Saudi Arabian Yazeed Al Rajhi in third.

The rally continues on Tuesday with the third stage, Al Ula-Al Ula, covering a distance of 422 kilometers, including a 314-kilometer liaison section.

The total distance of the rally, which comprises 13 diverse stages, is 7,994 kilometers for cars and 7,906 kilometers for motorcycles, of which 4,480 kilometers are timed for cars and 4,748 kilometers for motorcycles.

The remaining stages will continue through Al-Ula, Hail, Riyadh, Wadi Al-Dawasir, and Al-Hanakiya, before the competition concludes once again in Yanbu on January 17.

The rally route includes two marathon stages. The first, in Al-Ula, covers 451 km of timed sections out of a total of 526 km, while motorcycles compete over 417 km of competitive sections out of a total of 492 km. The route continues towards Hail, with 372 km for cars and 356 km for motorcycles.

The second marathon stage will run from Wadi Al-Dawasir to Bisha, covering 418 km of timed sections for motorcycles and 410 km for cars, followed by 421 km for cars and 371 km for motorcycles. (QNA)