The 2026 Dakar Rally, the latest round of the World Rally Raid Championship, kicked off in Saudi Arabia on January 3. The race started in the city of Yanbu and will finish there on January 17, the event’s official social media accounts report.
The crew of Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, representing the Ford factory team, is driving the new #217 Ford Raptor T1 in the M-Sport Rally-Raid Team colors. Both drivers are registered under Kyrgyz licenses and are competing under the Kyrgyz flag.
After eight stages, the Kyrgyzstan’s crew is 55th in the overall standings among 80 teams. Their best result was achieved on the third stage, where the drivers finished in the top ten.
The Dakar Rally is considered one of the most challenging and prestigious competitions in the world of motorsport, bringing together the strongest crews and factory teams from all over the world.
