Dakar, Monte Carlo, Daytona… A busy January ahead

The holiday season has barely ended, and already we need to delve into the upcoming 2026 sports season. The good news is that January will be packed with action across all fields, disciplines, and worldwide, and AUTOhebdo will, of course, be covering all these events! Let's take this opportunity to outline what awaits us in just a few days…

Dakar – From January 03rd to 17th

This is obviously the event rally-raid of the year. Starting Saturday, January 03rd, the Dakar Rally will begin in Saudi Arabia and Sébastien Loeb, now navigated by Edouard Boulanger, will attempt to clinch his first victory in the desert classic. Despite a strong season at the wheel of his Dacia Sandrider, his task will not be easy: he will have to overcome Yazeed Al-Rajhi, the defending champion, World Champion Lucas Moraes, five-time winner of the event Nasser Al-Attiyah, not to mention Guillaume de Mévius, Mattias Ekström, and the ever-present Carlos Sainz, winner in 2024. On the French side, we'll be keeping a close eye on the Baud family with Lionel and his daughter Lucie, Mathieu Serradori and Loïc Minaudier in their Century, and Romain Dumas. It's worth noting that Stéphane Peterhansel will be making his first appearance in Land Rover colors: the now Chinese manufacturer will be competing with its Defender in the Stocks category. And the good news doesn't stop there: you can follow the 2026 Dakar Rally live on AUTOhebdo and Roole's social media channels!

Monte Carlo Rally – From January 22nd to 25th

The Monte Carlo Rally, traditionally the opening round of the World Rally Championship, promises to be all fire and flames this year. Sébastien OgierThe ten-time winner will attempt to win his home rally for the eleventh time, and will be debuting his ninth World Championship title. Behind him, the competition promises to be fierce, even within the rally itself, with Elfyn Evans, Sami Pajari, Takamoto Katsuta, and Oliver Solberg, who will be under intense scrutiny, not to mention the... Hyundai byAdrien fourmaux, Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon or even the Fords M-Sport by Jon Armstrong, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster. In WRC2, the favorite will be Yohan Rossel in his new Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 but watch out for his teammate Nikolay Gryazin, his younger brother Léo, the other Frenchmen Mattéo Chatillon and Pablo Sarrazin, as well as the Belgians Cédric Cherain and Amaury Molle, all of whom have already announced their participation in the rally.

24 Hours of Daytona – January 21-25

At the same time, the world ofEndurance will be in turmoil on the other side of the planet with the opening round of theIMSAOn the legendary Daytona circuit, in its road-going configuration, the championship's top crews will attempt to add a legendary victory to their record. Last year, the Porsche The #7 Porsche 963 driven by Felipe Nasr, Laurens Vanthoor, and Nick Tandy triumphed over the #60 Acura ARX-06 piloted by Tom Blomqvist, Felix Rosenqvist, Scott Dixon, and Colin Braun after a hard-fought battle. Sixty-one teams are entered this year, and the French drivers Kévin Estre and Julien Andlauer, in the #6 and #7 Penske Porsches respectively, have a strong chance of victory. It's worth noting that reigning IMSA champion Mathieu Jaminet, who was partnered with Matt Campbell in 2025, has left Porsche to join Genesis Magma Racing.

Formula E – January 10 (Mexico City) and January 31 (Miami)

In a format different from other series, the 2025/2026 Formula E season already kicked off earlier this month in São Paulo, Brazil. Won by 2022/2023 champion Jake Dennis (Andretti), the race was notably marked by a spectacular collision between Pepe Martí and Antonio Félix da Costa, which brought out the safety car. On January 10th, the race will take place on a section of the Grand Prix circuit. Formula 1 Mexico will host the second round of the season, while Miami will host the third round of the championship on January 31st. Reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland will undoubtedly be looking to capitalize on this opportunity to score as many points as possible and retain his title until the end of the season. We will, of course, be following Jean-Eric Vergne (Citroën) and Norman Nato (Nissan), our two French drivers competing in this championship.

Pre-season testing – Formula 1 (Barcelona on January 30) and MotoGP (Sepang from January 29 to 31)

Formula 1 hadn't set foot in Europe during the winter since January 2020. Now accustomed to braving the heat of Bahrain for its opening tests, it returns to Barcelona for a day of private testing that may provide some initial insights into the pecking order for this season. On the cusp of a new regulatory era, all scenarios are possible. Classic Ferrari for sale, Red Bull, Alpine, HaasVCARB and Audi will have already presented their liveries and could therefore take the opportunity to debut their 2026 models. McLaren, Classic Mercedes for sale et Williams have not yet revealed the dates of their respective presentations, while Cadillac is set to unveil its first-ever Formula 1 car on February 08th in Santa Clara. Three French drivers will be worth watching this season, including Isack Hadjar, promoted to Red Bull, alongside... Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, who will team up as since mid-season 2025 with the Argentinian Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Oconretained at Haas despite a disappointing season.

On the side of MotoGPContinuity will be key before the upcoming 2027 regulation change, which will see engines "reduce" to 850cc. Yamaha will nevertheless continue developing its V4 and will welcome Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu to Pramac this year. Marc Marquez, the 2025 World Champion, will be the favorite to retain his title, even though his teammate Pecco Bagnaia will be eager to bounce back after a 2025 season far from his best. Another rider will almost certainly want to take advantage of this opportunity to get back in the saddle: fabio quartararo, the 2021 World Champion, has struggled for several seasons on his Yamaha. Johann Zarco will complete the French contingent: winner of 2 Grands Prix in his career, including a memorable victory at Le Mans last year, he was the best Honda rider at the end of the 2025 season and intends to ride this momentum from Sepang at the end of the month.

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