Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom has been gifted victory on Stage 7 of the 2026 Dakar Rally after long-time leader Henk Lategan hit trouble in the closing part and dropped over 10 minutes.<br>Lategan had been poised to take both the stage win and the overall lead as the Toyota driver headed the pack at the final checkpoint before the finish, having led Ekstrom by 1m46s, but the South African lost all of ...<a class='more' href='https://www.autosport.com/dakar/news/dakar-2026-stage-7-ekstrom-wins-stage-after-late-drama-for-lategan/10789306/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-ALL&utm_term=News&utm_content=uk'>Keep reading</a>