Held every January in a rotating cast of desert host nations, the Dakar Rally is unlike anything in motorsport. A race in name only, Dakar pits man and one of ten classes of machine (motorcycles, trophy trucks, and dune buggies are core to the Dakar experience, but the Classic field, with its vintage Porsches, is where the real novelty of this event shines) against some of the most challenging environments accessible by two or four wheels. With two full weeks of racing on tap, it’s really more of a test of endurance for both man and machine. As we learned in the final stage of the 2026 edition, its winner is determined not by speed, but by wayfinding abilities—and nowhere was this more evident than this year’s motorcycle class podium which was decided by merely two seconds (a new Dakar record), after the race’s prevailing leader (and former two-time winner) Ricky Brabec made a critical navigation error inside the final ten kilometers of the final stage, ceding nearly five minutes to Luciano Benavides—a stunning finish after fourteen grueling days racing.