PUNCTURES AND PENALTIES DEFINE TOUGH MARATHON OPENING FOR TGRSA ON STAGE 4

• Saood Variawa fights through multiple punctures to finish inside the top 10 on Stage 4
• João Ferreira endures another puncture-hit day on the opening leg of the Marathon
• Guy Botterill’s day unravelled by navigation issues and a time penalty
• Attention now turns to the second and decisive part of the Marathon stage

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) faced one of the toughest days of the 2026 Dakar Rally so far on Wednesday, as Stage 4 marked the opening leg of the first Marathon stage, running from AlUla to the Marathon Refuge.

The 452 km special stage formed part of a 530 km total day and placed a heavy emphasis on rock-strewn tracks, tyre management and mechanical sympathy. With no external assistance allowed overnight, crews were forced to balance pace with preservation as Dakar’s Marathon challenge began to take shape.

Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet (#213) were the leading TGRSA crew on Stage 4, finishing ninth on the stage, 22 minutes 09 seconds behind the winner. After a strong opening phase, the pair’s progress was hampered by punctures in the rocky middle section of the stage, forcing a more cautious approach over the long run to the finish.

“Today was not the best of days,” said Variawa. “We were going quite well at the start and passed a lot of guys that started ahead of us. Then we hit the rocky section and got two punctures close together. After that we still had another 260 kilometres to go, most of it on rocks, so we had to be quite cautious. It could have been worse, but we’ll see how the overall looks.”

Despite the setbacks, Variawa and Cazalet remain sixth overall after Stage 4, sitting 18 minutes 19 seconds off the lead as the rally moves deeper into its opening week.

For João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (#240), Stage 4 proved to be another frustrating day. Two early punctures forced the Portuguese pairing to dramatically reduce their pace in order to reach the Marathon bivouac, eventually finishing 17th on the stage, 30 minutes 50 seconds down.

“Not a good day for us again,” said Ferreira. “Two early punctures meant we had to drive super carefully and super slowly. It’s tough racing and I’m gutted for the team, but we’re still alive for the second part of the Marathon and we’ll reassess our strategy after tomorrow.”

Palmeiro added context to the challenges faced on the day: “We had two punctures again, one around kilometre 100 and the second around kilometre 150. After all the rocky sections we slowed down a lot and lost time, but the second part was much faster and we could drive again. That’s Dakar.”

Ferreira and Palmeiro now sit 17th overall at +36:53 as they prepare for the second and decisive leg of the Marathon.

Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena (#218) endured a particularly difficult Stage 4. Navigation issues during the stage resulted in a missed waypoint and a confirmed 15-minute time penalty, compounding an already challenging day. The pair finished the stage in 37th position, 52 minutes 05 seconds behind the leader, and now hold 22nd overall at +01:04:55 heading into Stage 5.

Looking ahead, Stage 5 will conclude the Marathon stage with a demanding run from the Marathon Refuge to Ha’il. The 371 km special stage forms part of a 427 km total day and continues to place the emphasis on reliability and tyre management, with no external assistance still permitted. With the Marathon challenge drawing to a close, the focus for TGRSA will be on bringing all three GR Hilux IMT Evo cars safely to Ha’il before resetting for the next phase of Dakar 2026.

DAKAR RALLY 2026 – STAGE 4 RESULTS

DAKAR RALLY 2026 – STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 4