{"id":405819,"date":"2026-01-11T08:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T08:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/405819\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T08:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T08:09:32","slug":"tyre-lottery-at-the-2026-dakar-rally-whats-going-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/405819\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyre Lottery at the 2026 Dakar Rally: What\u2019s going wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the first week of the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, there have been numerous tyre failures. Almost every team and vehicle in the top class has been affected, with some drivers suffering multiple punctures in a single day. On some stages, pit stops for tyre changes were introduced as some teams were even struggling to complete the distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This has led some drivers to describe the race as a \u201clottery\u201d. With such close time gaps in the leading group, the eventual winner could simply be the one who reaches the finish with the fewest punctures. In the bivouac, criticism is mounting against tyre manufacturer BFGoodrich.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not happy with BFGoodrich at all,\u201d emphasises Joan Navarro, head engineer at M-Sport Ford, in an interview with Motorsport.com. \u201cThe tyre is a new one, not the same as last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey developed it further over the course of the year. We used this tyre for the first time [in October] at the Rallye du Maroc. That was very last-minute \u2013 we couldn\u2019t react, couldn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said from the start that this tyre wasn\u2019t validated \u2013 because to start at Dakar, a tyre must be validated. Normally, we validate every component over more than 5,000km, and this tyre simply wasn\u2019t validated.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the new tyre, BFGoodrich changed the internal structure. The goal was to reduce damage to the tread surface, which had been a recurring issue in past years.<\/p>\n

\"#248 <\/p>\n

#248 X-Raid Mini JCW Mini: Maria Gameiro, Rosa Romero<\/p>\n

Photo by: X-raid<\/p>\n

\u201cThey actually achieved that,\u201d Navarro admits, \u201cbut now we have more sidewall damage. So, in the end, you have just as many punctures overall, only in a different spot. We\u2019re not happy with that at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something we have to work on for next year. Without the pit stops, it would have been a disaster. If you look at Stage 2 or 3 \u2013 for seven cars, we had more than 15 punctures, I think. That\u2019s enormous!<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the pit stop, probably all cars would have been stranded somewhere mid-stage without tyres. That\u2019s not acceptable, and it\u2019s something that needs fixing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the tyres aren’t the only culprit for the high number of punctures sweeping the field – the damage is also related to the terrain in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Razor-sharp stones in Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n

In Saudi Arabia, there are many rocky sections filled with stones embedded in the mountainous terrain \u2013 especially in the northern region. Most of the first week\u2019s stages took place there, while the classic sandy desert lies mainly in the south of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe terrain is totally different from what we\u2019re used to in Europe or other regions,\u201d says Dacia team principal Tiphanie Isnard. \u201cThat\u2019s tough on the tyres, but it\u2019s part of tyre management \u2013 and it\u2019s clearly tied to the terrain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the Frenchwoman notes: \u201cI\u2019m satisfied with what we\u2019ve achieved. They reinforced the tread, which is exactly what we asked for because punctures on the tread are pure bad luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"#219 <\/p>\n

#219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Edouard Boulanger<\/p>\n

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

Toyota team manager Jan Verhaegen sees the cause of the high volume of punctures more in the type of stones found along the route, rather than in\u00a0BFGoodrich\u2019s design. Saudi Arabia has a history of volcanic activity and, even today, many volcanic craters are still visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m hearing from the guys \u2013 and I\u2019ve been out on the ground myself \u2013 is that you come across some razor-sharp stones out there,\u201d Verhaegen explains. \u201cThese black, flat stones \u2013 I\u2019d almost call them ceramic-like.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you drive over them, the front tyre flicks them up and the rear one catches them. So, in short: I\u2019d clearly attribute this to the terrain, not BFG. We have observed ourselves that most \u2013 if not all \u2013 of the punctures occur on the sidewall.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut again, I really think this is more about the terrain, and perhaps the sidewall is the area that still needs strengthening. It\u2019s a learning process for next year. But once again, I don\u2019t want to publicly blame BFG here.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, the organisation and the terrain play the bigger roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Primarily, it’s up to rally director David\u00a0Castera to decide where the route takes competitors via the roadbook.<\/p>\n

Will luck decide the overall winner?<\/p>\n

The words \u201cluck\u201d and \u201clottery\u201d have often been heard in the bivouac during the first week. \u201cWhat\u2019s tricky are the cases where the drivers don\u2019t even notice when they\u2019ve picked up a puncture,\u201d says Ford team boss Matthew Wilson.<\/p>\n

\"Ford <\/p>\n

Ford M-Sport team area<\/p>\n

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are situations that are very hard to manage from a driver\u2019s perspective. But one thing\u2019s certain: BFGoodrich really tried to tackle and fix the old problem. Unfortunately, that seems to have created a new one.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps we saw signs of it already in Morocco, but because that rally was shorter and had fewer top cars, the full extent only became apparent here. Unfortunately, the sidewall has now been exposed as a new weak point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat now seems to be an even bigger issue than the previous tread damage,\u201d Wilson says. \u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating \u2013 the whole thing has become a bit of a lottery. You can imagine how much money everyone invests to be here.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in the end, the winner might just be the one who suffers the fewest punctures. That\u2019s not a fair basis. Sure, some of the sections they drove and some of the punctures would have happened no matter how strong the tyre is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think even the organisers knew that \u2013 that\u2019s why they introduced the pit stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson believes many factors play into these tyre failures: the rocky terrain, the weight of the cars, and also the racing itself.<\/p>\n

What influence can Dakar organiser A.S.O. have?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re basically turning this into a sprint race now,\u201d says X-raid boss Sven Quandt. \u201cEvery day they\u2019re pushing to the maximum \u2013 only a few are still playing the strategy game, because most think it\u2019s all or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a stone sticking out of the sand \u2013 the first car hits nothing, the second hits nothing, but the third or fourth, then it hits and we\u2019ve got a problem. But it could also be the first one that gets unlucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

The question arises whether the T1+ vehicles could be slowed down via the roadbook, but that would create other problems, as Quandt explains: \u201cThe organiser runs into trouble if it\u2019s too slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause then the Challenger and Side-by-Side vehicles get too fast and start mixing with the front-runners again \u2013 and that\u2019s not what you want. You need a balanced course; otherwise, the classes flip around.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that in slow sections, a Challenger or Side-by-Side is already very fast \u2013 they\u2019ve been given a lot of power. Their power-to-weight ratio compared to a T1 car is already very high.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen what role the tyre issues will play in determining the rally\u2019s outcome during the second week. After the rest day in Riyadh, the route heads south toward Wadi ad-Dawasir and Bisha before returning north through Al-Henakiyah to the finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Photos from Dakar Rally – Rest Day<\/p>\n

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– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During the first week of the 2026 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, there have been numerous tyre failures.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,215186,806,805,803,804,85,215185],"class_list":["post-405819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-dakar","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports","tag-tyre-lottery-at-the-2026-dakar-rally-whatu2019s-going-wrong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}