With only one stage left for the Dakar podium to be finalized, driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi is well on the way to get a personal victory, his first-ever win at the Dakar Rally. In this penultimate stage, he managed to leave his closest rival for first place, Henk Lategan, behind by an impressive nine minutes which means that, if all goes smoothly in the final 60 kilometers, Al-Rajhi will make history as the first Saudi to claim victory in this race.
For the Saudi driver and his German co-driver, Timo Gottschalk, this is their eleventh attempt, and it’s shaping up to be unforgettable. They did not win the Stage 11 race though, making it in third place, 1 minute and 45 seconds behind the day’s winner, Mattias Ekström.
Ekström who is driving for Ford, snagged his second consecutive stage win, following Nani Roma’s success for the same team the previous day. Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger, who drive the new Dacia, came in second, just 41 seconds behind Ekström.
The other contender for first place, Henk Lategan did not have as much luck, as the South African driver only managed to finish fifth in this stage, more than 10 minutes behind Ekström. He struggled in the dunes, an area where Al-Rajhi’s experience gave him a clear advantage. Now, Lategan finds himself 6 minutes and 11 seconds behind Al-Rajhi in the overall rankings. Closing this gap should not be too hard, but in a race where anything can happen even seconds can be very real determining factor.
But it is not just the fight for first place that is heating up, the fight for the last podium spot is also fraught. Ekström is holding onto the spot, 22 minutes and 34 seconds off Al-Rajhi’s lead. However, Al-Attiyah isn’t far behind, trailing by just over four minutes. The battle between Ford and Dacia for the final podium position promises to be one of the highlights of the last stage.
Other fan favorites did not have as much luck in this state as in previous ones. Nani Roma, who won the day before, faced mechanical issues that forced him to stop partway through, and Cristina Gutiérrez finished in 23rd place. Pau Navarro did manage to get to the finish line on tenth place, but it still was not enough to crack the top ten in the leaderboard.
As it stands after the Dakar Stage 11, here’s the top of the leaderboard:
Yazeed Al-Rajhi / Timo Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing) – 51h 53′ 36”
Henk Lategan / Brett Cummings (Toyota Gazoo Racing) – +6′ 11”
Mattias Ekström / Emil Bergkvist (Ford M-Sport) – +22′ 34”
Nasser Al-Attiyah / Edouard Boulanger (The Dacia Sandriders) – +26′ 50”
Mitchell Guthrie / Kellon Walch (Ford M-Sport) – +59′ 26”
Mathieu Serradori / Loic Minaudier (Century Racing Factory Team) – +1h 10′ 08”
Juan Cruz Yacopini / Daniel Oliveras (Overdrive Racing) – +1h 58′ 13”
Joao Ferreira / Filipe Palmeiro (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) – +2h 15′ 59”
Seth Quintero / Dennis Zenz (Toyota Gazoo Racing) – +2h 19′ 47”
Brian Baragwanath / Leonard Cremer (Century Racing Factory Team) – +2h 53′ 26”
The grand finale of the Dakar 2025 is taking place today on a loop starting and finishing in Shubaytah. It is a shorter stage than some of the more challenging ones we have seen, with only 61 kilometers standing between drivers and the finish line, but it is still a very hard terrain that will challenge the remaining competitors and will keep spectators on their toes, with a fun mix of high-speed sections and technical challenges. It is a short but intense stage where every second will count and, when it is over, we will finally crown the winner of the first 2025 Dakar.
