The second stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia 2026 ended with two Argentines on the podium in the Challenger division: Mendoza's Bruno Jacomy and Buenos Aires' Augusto Sanz. According to Noticias Argentinas agency, the second day of the competition connected the Saudi cities of Yanbu and Alula, and several Argentines experienced delays on a 400-kilometer timed section due to encountering more stones than reported as an obstacle. This caused several vehicles to suffer punctures. However, two Argentines stood out in the Challenger division: Jacomy and Sanz. Jacomy won Stage 2 as the navigator of the vehicle driven by Chilean Lucas del Río, while Sanz finished third alongside South African Puck Klassen. With this result and a time of 4 hours and 26 minutes, the Chilean-Argentine duo climbed to third place in the general classification, led by the albiceleste duo David Zille-Sebastián Cesana. This pair had won the first stage and finished fourth on Monday. Meanwhile, the Argentine married couple, defending champions in Challenger, Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini, were affected by the excess of stones on the road and suffered punctures, which led them to finish tenth and sixth overall. In the Motorbikes division, Salta's Luciano Benavides finished seventh after his rear tire came off, complicating his arrival at the end of Stage 2, which was won by the defending champion, Australian Daniel Sanders. Argentine Manuel Andujar finished fourteenth in this Stage 2 of the Side by Side division, which was won by Portuguese Goncalo Guerreiro, followed by Belgian Vayssade Florent and French Xavier De Soultrait.
