Orlando Terranova “looking for motivation” to return to Dakar Rally in 2026

Orlando Terranova figured his Dakar Rally career was wrapped up after 2023, even if it ended on a disappointing note. However, it might not be over for him just yet.

Speaking with Carburando Radio on Thursday, Terranova admitted he might not be opposed to returning to the race in 2026, provided his heart and mind are willing to commit to it.

“I decided last year to stop after eighteen Dakars,” he began. “I’m still in contact with all the drivers and follow them closely, but I’m looking for motivation to return in 2026.

“Last year, I felt like I was going with the flow and not on motivation. If there is something that I am clear about in life, it’s that things have to be done when you really want to. I’m not doing it to prove anything to anyone or have a figure of anything. I do it because I feel like it.”

2023 marked Terranova’s seventeenth Dakar and fifteenth on four wheels. Racing a Prodrive Hunter for Bahrain Raid Xtreme, he notched a third in Stage #3 but retired the next day after hurting his lower back on a hard landing. It was his second Dakar in the Hunter after finishing a career-best fourth in 2022 with a stage win.

Terranova made his Dakar début on a bike in 2005 followed by the 2007 edition, though he failed to finish either. When the race moved to his native South America in 2009, he made the switch to driving a car and bounced between various manufacturers—BMW, Mitsubishi, Toyota—across the next five years. He found some stability with X-raid Mini in 2014, with whom he raced through 2021; his best outing was a fifth in 2013 and 2014, while he scored four stage victories in 2015.

His most recent rally raid was the 2023 Rallye du Maroc, where placed a dismal twenty-first but ended the race by winning the last leg. The year before, he finished runner-up to Prodrive colleague Guerlain Chicherit.

During Thursday’s interview, Terranova recalled a conversation with 2024 Dakar winner Carlos Sainz in Morocco that stuck with him.

“He had a chat with me after the Rallye du Maroc last year,” Terranova continued. “He asked me there, ‘What are you going to do?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not going, I don’t feel like it,’ and he tells me, ‘Oh, it’s good that you can be so certain.’ I had to come back.”

Terranova also added he is willing to work with Prodrive again for his 2026 effort. The team still fields the Hunter, though their current efforts are on developing the Dacia Sandrider ahead of 2025.