Roma Takes the Dakar Lead in Saudi Arabia as Ford Goes One-Two

Ford Racing's Spanish driver Nani Roma and Spanish co-pilot Alex Haro compete in Stage 8 of the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally 2026, in Saudi Arabia on January 12, 2026. (AFP)

14:46-13 January 2026 AD ـ 25 Rajab 1447 AH

Ford Racing's Spanish driver Nani Roma and Spanish co-pilot Alex Haro compete in Stage 8 of the 48th edition of the Dakar Rally 2026, in Saudi Arabia on January 12, 2026. (AFP)

Spaniard Nani Roma led compatriot Carlos Sainz in a Ford one-two at the top of the Dakar Rally car standings on Tuesday after a tough ninth stage in the Saudi Arabian desert for some frontrunners.

Dacia's previous leader and five times winner Nasser Al-Attiyah slipped to third but still only one minute 10 seconds behind Roma, with Toyota's South African Henk Lategan fourth - and with a further five minutes to make up.

"I had three punctures today, but I think everyone had problems," said Roma, who last led the Dakar 12 years ago when he won. "We are positive to be here."

Sainz said it had been hard to find the way at one point, with the cars taking ‌a different route ‌to the bikes and no longer having tracks ‌to ⁠follow.

Lategan described it ‌as a "little bit of a disaster of a day" after getting lost, suffering a puncture, broken windscreen and loss of power steering.

"I was driving with no power steering, extremely difficult in these cars because the wheels are so big so you have to have massive power to even turn the wheels," he said.

"And then we had some more punctures, got lost and we hit that bush in Seb (Loeb)'s dust ⁠that broke the windscreen. So we had to stop and kick the windscreen out because I couldn't ‌see from inside the car, put some goggles ‍on and carry on going."

The 410km ‍stage from Wadi Ad Dawasir to the overnight bivouac, first half of a ‍marathon stage, was won by 21-year-old Polish non-factory Toyota driver Eryk Goczal.

He finished seven minutes ahead of his uncle Michal, also with the Energylandia team, while father Marek was in 31st position.

Australian Toby Price, a double Dakar winner on motorcycles, was third on the stage for Toyota.

Sainz, 63, was handed a one minute 10 second penalty for speeding and finished the stage seventh but ahead ⁠of most of his rivals, including Roma in eighth.

The four times Dakar winner is now 57 seconds behind Roma, who also won on a motorcycle in 2004.

Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom, who had been second overall for Ford, lost a lot of time with a navigation error and dropped to fifth and 11 minutes and 19 seconds off the pace. Dacia's nine times world rally champion Loeb was sixth.

Spaniard Tosha Schareina won the stage in the motorcycle category for Honda, with KTM's Argentine rider Luciano Benavides losing the way and his overall lead to Australia's defending champion Daniel Sanders.

Sanders, also on a KTM, led Honda's American Ricky Brabec by six minutes ‌and 24 seconds.

The race, which ends on Saturday on the Red Sea coast, is the first round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season.

De Zerbi Hails ‘Complete’ Spurs After Historic Win at Chelsea

Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - October 24, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Conor Gallagher celebrates after the match with James Maddison. (Reuters)

08:15-25 October 2026 AD ـ 14 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

De Zerbi Hails ‘Complete’ Spurs After Historic Win at Chelsea

Premier League - Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - October 24, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur's Conor Gallagher celebrates after the match with James Maddison. (Reuters)

Roberto De Zerbi said Tottenham's historic 2-0 victory against London rivals Chelsea proved his side have a winning mentality as they banished their dismal start to the season.

Tottenham won at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League for just the second time in 36 years and the first since 2018.

Trips across the capital to west London have largely been fruitless experiences for Tottenham over the last four decades.

But De Zerbi's men enjoyed a memorable visit to the Bridge on Saturday thanks to a comical own goal from Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders and a late wonder-goal from Mathys Tel after Blues star Cole Palmer was sent off.

"It was a big moment for the fans, the club and the players also. They deserved this win, they prepared very well," De Zerbi said.

"We are improving a lot, we are improving in the mentality, in the group and the relationships with the players and then we are improving on the pitch."

Tottenham started the season on a dismal run of six league games without a win, raising the specter of another relegation battle after they narrowly avoided dropping into the Championship on the final day of last season.

With the pressure mounting on De Zerbi, the Italian has drawn his players closer together thanks to meals together and a trip to Marbella.

- 'The spirit, the belief' -

A win against promoted Coventry on Monday lifted the tension around the north London club and vanquishing Chelsea was another reward for De Zerbi's team-building ethos.

"Now it is a complete team. When we stay for dinner and stay together in the dressing room, I see a different group, a different relationship and different atmosphere among the players," he said.

"The character was today great, but we have many, many new players. The players who stayed here last season, two or three seasons ago, they suffered the last results, two times 17th position, we are working to change the last part of the history of the club."

Tottenham were beginning to lose the faith of their long-suffering fans after another miserable start to the season.

But De Zerbi was adamant he never doubted they would get back on track.

"I have to believe for sure in this group. I never lost the confidence in my players," he said.

"The week in Marbella, to speak better face to face, to open ourselves and remove the mask it is important.

"It is important for the spirit, the belief. The atmosphere inside the dressing room is maybe more important than the tactics."

For Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso, it was a painful setback as the optimism engendered by successive victories over Bournemouth and Everton was washed away on a rain-lashed evening.

Alonso's expensively assembled team sit in fourth place but remain very much a work in progress after the third league loss of his first season in charge.

"We are all disappointed with the result, with the performance collectively and individually we were not at our best level," he said.

"It was about the first goal and it went their way and with 10 men it was difficult but we can do better."

Alonso refused to blame Penders and Palmer for their roles in the defeat.

"We feel for everyone, it is a team thing, a collective. We have to move on," he said before adding he "hadn't seen" Palmer's two bookings.

Sports

Verstappen’s Advice to Antonelli: Enjoy the Ride and Celebrate

Pole winner Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, center, of Italy, poses with second place qualifier Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands, and third place qualifier Red Bull driver Yuki Isack Hadjar, of France, following qualifying for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP)

08:10-25 October 2026 AD ـ 14 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Verstappen’s Advice to Antonelli: Enjoy the Ride and Celebrate

Max Verstappen advised Kimi Antonelli to enjoy the ride and get ready to celebrate as the Italian stands on the brink of becoming Formula One's youngest ever champion.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver qualified on pole position for Sunday's US Grand Prix and could clinch the title with five rounds to spare at Austin's Circuit of the Americas if he wins and other results go his way.

Red Bull's Verstappen, a four-time champion, will be alongside on the ‌front row ‌and fighting for his third successive victory after Malaysia and ‌Singapore.

The ⁠Dutch driver will ⁠not be making it easy for Antonelli, but he also recognized that the main battle was over.

"He knows what he's doing, so he just needs to try and win the race. If it (the title) doesn't happen here, it will happen next weekend. If it doesn't happen next weekend, it will happen the weekend after," he said, sitting alongside Antonelli in a post-qualifying press conference.

"I think it's just been an ⁠incredible season, so you have to also just try and ‌enjoy this kind of ride of the last ‌few months that you've been in.

"At one point, of course, it's official, and then ‌you can celebrate probably a little bit."

Verstappen said Antonelli, who is 102 points ‌clear of teammate and closest rival George Russell, deserved all the success he was having.

"He's very consistent, he's putting the performances in when it matters, and once it's finally official that he is world champion, he's definitely a deserving winner," he said.

Antonelli said the weekend ‌did feel different, with his first "match point" in the championship, but the goal remained the same.

"We still have to ⁠do the race ⁠tomorrow, still have to try and win, and then, of course, we'll see what happens. But yeah, I feel like I can enjoy it a bit more because obviously I'm in a very good position," he said.

The Italian added that his biggest immediate achievement, on a gusty day with a tailwind blowing, had been to keep his car within the track limits.

The Italian has regularly fallen foul of stewards and irritated team boss Toto Wolff with his breaches of the limits this season.

"One of the keys was not doing any track limits. That was very good for me because I've had a couple of races where I've done track limits in crucial moments, and that kind of put myself in a bad position and under more pressure. So that hasn't been ideal," he told Sky Sports television.

Sports

Australian Grand Prix Called off as Rain Spoils Phillip Island Send-off

MotoGP bikes are seen lined up after a farewell lap following the cancellation of the last Australian MotoGP Grand Prix to be held at Phillip Island on October 25, 2026, due to inclement weather conditions. (AFP)

07:32-25 October 2026 AD ـ 14 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Australian Grand Prix Called off as Rain Spoils Phillip Island Send-off

The final Australian MotoGP at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was called off on Sunday due to heavy rain, ruining the farewell for one of the championship's most beloved circuits.

It was a crushing blow for the sold-out crowd at Phillip Island, with the Australian Grand Prix moving to the streets of Adelaide next year.

The Moto2 and Moto3 races were cancelled first and the MotoGP race was delayed by two hours due to the weather, before organizers threw in the towel and finally called it off at 3:40 p.m. (0440 GMT).

"Due to limited visibility affecting the operation of the medical helicopter the MotoGP Grand Prix race has been cancelled," MotoGP said in a statement.

"The MotoGP riders will do a lap behind the safety car and stop on ‌the main straight ‌to greet the fans. Pitlane will open for the farewell lap at 15:45 ‌local ⁠time."

RIDER PARADE

The dark ⁠clouds and pelting rain brought down the visibility around the circuit, affecting the medical helicopter, which would take 45 minutes to reach the circuit from mainland Melbourne in an emergency.

Other than two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seaside track south of Melbourne had been a fixture on the world championship calendar for 30 years and produced some of Australian motorcycling's most memorable moments.

Australian two-times world champion Casey Stoner celebrated six wins in succession from 2007 to 2012, while compatriot Mick Doohan sealed his fifth and final world title with victory in the 1998 ⁠race.

The raincoat-clad fans who persevered through the rain were treated to a farewell ‌lap from the MotoGP riders, who waved as they slowly made ‌their way around a soaking wet track.

Home racer Jack Miller did his best to entertain his supporters with a series ‌of tricks, including a stand-up wheelie over the finish line, before heading over to the grandstand and ‌throwing his gloves and boots into the crowd.

MILLER DEJECTED, SIGH OF RELIEF FOR MARTIN

The Pramac Racing rider, a very strong performer in the wet, cut a dejected figure when he was interviewed after completing his lap.

"This is a tough pill to swallow," said the 31-year-old, who will be leaving MotoGP at the end of the season after more than a ‌decade to join Pata Maxus Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship.

"You know, I was praying for rain all weekend. We got the rain, but obviously we ⁠weren't organized enough to ⁠get the racing going, so it's a tough one.

"You guys deserve better. Honestly, all of you have done a fantastic job turning out for Phillip Island, sitting through traffic, sitting through dog-shit weather, all the rest of it. You guys are amazing. Thank you very much."

Rain had been expected for the weekend, but MotoGP did not revive its 2023 strategy for the circuit, when the Grand Prix was moved ahead to Saturday and the sprint scheduled for Sunday.

That sprint race three years ago was eventually called off.

The cancellation of the race also ended the opportunity for seven-times MotoGP champion Marquez to extend his lead in the championship standings, with his title rival Martin declared unfit to compete in the race after fracturing his wrist.

Martin held the championship lead heading into the weekend but finds himself 10 points behind Marquez after failing to finish Saturday's sprint after a gruesome crash.

On Sunday, Martin's team Aprilia said he would not travel back to Spain to undergo treatment, however, boosting the 2024 champion's hopes of racing at next week's Malaysian Grand Prix and remaining in the title fight.

Roma Takes the Dakar Lead in Saudi Arabia as Ford Goes One-Two

Most Viewed

De Zerbi Hails ‘Complete’ Spurs After Historic Win at Chelsea

Verstappen’s Advice to Antonelli: Enjoy the Ride and Celebrate

Australian Grand Prix Called off as Rain Spoils Phillip Island Send-off

لم تشترك بعد