Reiger Suspension is the undisputed force at the Dakar Rally. This was proven once again by the result of this year’s rally-raid season opener! With the overall victory by Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Dacia Sandrider, our off-road suspension brand Reiger celebrated its twelfth overall win at the toughest rally-raid in the world.
By the way, the off-road technology from the Dakar Rally is now available from KW automotive at Reiger both for off-road motorsport and as aftermarket upgrades for various popular light trucks and SUVs. Reiger dampers for the first vehicles are already available. More at www.reigersuspension.com
Harder, Tougher, Dakar Rally!
From January 3 to January 17, 2026, off-road and rally fans had their hearts in the desert. The Dakar Rally heated us up emotionally in winter and it was even hotter on site.
On the more than 1,000-entry field awaited an approximately 8,000-kilometer route, with over 5,000 kilometers of “Special Stages” through the impressive deserts of Saudi Arabia. This year, the 14-day rally-raid started at the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.
From there, the route led inland. Right from the start, competitors were tested to their limits, often driving up to 170 km/h across the desert. This year’s course was marked by numerous mountain passes, deep sand, and fast sections.
Many said it was even more demanding than in previous years.
Since 2020, the Dakar Rally has been hosted in Saudi Arabia a kingdom that offers perfect terrain for the event with its dunes, mountains, gravel plains, and wadis. Between 1979 and 2007, the Dakar Rally ran from Paris to Dakar in West Africa, and after a cancellation in 2008 due to terror threats, was staged in South America from 2009 to 2019.
Amid all the motorcycle, car, and truck entries and the many support vehicles, the Reiger Suspension service truck also accompanied the Dakar caravan in Saudi Arabia. Another support vehicle was our Toyota Hilux pickup, in which we tested our new Reiger Performance dampers under a “small endurance test.”
The Reiger service truck has four dust-protected, climate-controlled cabins where dampers can be maintained on site. In total, four mechanics and two engineers from Reiger supported motorsport customers during the rally.
Reiger Continues Its Record of Success — Overall Victory
For years, the off-road suspension manufacturer Reiger, part of KW automotive since 2021, has equipped many rally-raid competitors.
In the 2026 Dakar Rally, the toughest rally-raid in the world, a vehicle equipped with Reiger dampers again crossed the finish line first: Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, with Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin, in a Dacia Sandrider (#299).
In the years 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2026, the 55-year-old Al-Attiyah has won the Dakar Rally, five times with Reiger suspension technology.
In addition to the overall victory, teammates Sébastien Loeb (#219) and Lucas Moraes (#223) also finished in fourth and seventh place overall in their Dacia Sandriders.
Dacia first entered the Dakar Rally in 2025 with its Sandrider cars in the prototype class T1+ and from the beginning, Reiger rally-raid dampers were installed on every Sandrider. Each Sandrider is equipped with eight Reiger 550 dampers.
Other Reiger customers also placed in the top 10 overall. From the Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC Team (#204), Toby Price together with Armand Monleon finished in eighth place.
Seth Quintero and Andrew Short (#203), also from Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC, finished ninth, while the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team (#213) with Saood Variawa and François Cazalet finished tenth overall.
From 2012 to 2015 and 2019 to 2026, the overall winner always competed on Reiger hardware. The record in the truck category of the Dakar Rally is even more impressive: since 2005, Reiger-equipped off-road customers have won the classification every year except 2024.
Top 3 in the Truck Category Also on Reiger
In 2026, the entire podium in the truck category also finished on Reiger dampers. In the Dakar Rally, a truck crew always consists of a driver, co-pilot (navigator), and mechanic, as the crew is mostly on its own.
The Nordis Team de Rooy FPT (#604) with Vaidotas Zala, Paulo Fiuza, and Max van Grol finished first in their class after 8,000 kilometers, returning to Yanbu.
Second place went to the Instatrade Loprais Team de Rooy FPT (#602).
Third was the Eurol Rallysport (#601) crew.
While Nasser Al‑Attiyah completed the Dakar Rally in his #299 Dacia Sandrider (T1+ Prototype Cross-Country 4×4) in 48:56:53 hours (including penalties), the fastest truck completed the entire distance in 56:58:28 hours.
Each truck uses eight Reiger dampers with four hydraulic bump stops, and Reiger also manufactures dampers for the cab and steering.
The top-3 off-road trucks, for example, are based on heavily modified Iveco PowerStar trucks, have a minimum weight of 8,760 kg under the regulations, and about 1,050 hp. However, the trucks differ significantly from each other and are each built by the individual teams according to the regulations.
Reiger customers also achieved podium placements in the Challenger and SSV classes, underlining the brand’s dominance across all rally‑raid categories.
Images MM Photo
