Yazeed Al-Rajhi outgunned manufacturing facility Toyota rival Henk Lategan in a buyer Hilux to say an against-the-odds victory within the Dakar Rally.
With newcomers Ford and Dacia nonetheless discovering their ft in cross-country rallying and final 12 months’s winner Audi having pulled out of the competitors, the forty seventh version of Dakar was successfully an all-Toyota affair.
However whereas the Japanese producer fielded 5 automobiles on a manufacturing facility foundation, it was privateer Al-Rajhi who took the spoils for Overdrive after two weeks of rallying in his residence nation, Saudi Arabia.
For the longest time, Lategan had the sting over Al-Rajhi within the general standings, with the South African capitalising on his consistency to keep up his lead over a rival who was arguably quicker on pure tempo.
Lategan appeared to have cemented his possibilities of victory after topping the eighth stage on Monday, however a navigation error in the beginning of the next check in Haradh handed the initiative to Al-Rajhi and threw the rally broad open.
The manufacturing facility Toyota driver rebounded on Stage 10 in his bid to re-establish the established order, however his lack of prowess on dunes got here to be his undoing as Dakar went deeper into the Empty Quarters desert.
A lacklustre efficiency on the penultimate day determined the rally in Al-Rajhi’s favour, with the Saudi driver pouncing on the chance to grab the lead after which convey it residence on Friday.
The 43-year-old had proven his mettle by provisionally successful the gruelling 48-hour check in Bisha, after that very stage pressured him into retirement 12 months in the past. Though the outcome was later revised in favour of his team-mate Rokas Baciuska, the efficiency established Al-Rajhi as Lategan’s strongest rival in what turned out to be a two-horse race for victory.
There have been some hiccups alongside the way in which, together with a tardy displaying on Stage 10 the place he hemorrhaged 9 minutes to Lategan, however a fast restoration on the next day sealed the victory for him.
The ultimate margin between the 2 drivers was 3m57s.
#211 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Henk Lategan, Brett Cummings
Picture by: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
The most effective-of-the-rest tag went to Mattias Ekstrom, who completed 20m21 off the lead in third on Ford’s full-fledged debut in Dakar.
With Carlos Sainz Sr pressured out early by the FIA after damaging his automotive’s roll cage in a crash on Stage 2, the ever-reliable Ekstrom took over the mantle for the American producer and delivered his personal-best end in Dakar.
The Swede was commonly battling for particular person stage wins and eventually picked up a victory on Stage 11 to seal the ultimate spot on the rostrum.
His outcome meant Ford was in a position to beat fellow newcomer Dacia, as a annoyed Nasser Al-Attiyah wound up fourth in the most effective of the Sandriders.
Like Ford, Renault Group model Dacia additionally took an early blow when Sebastien Loeb needed to withdraw from the occasion because of a broken automotive.
With Loeb gone, Al-Attiyah was nonetheless quicker than Ekstrom on outright tempo, however a four-minute penalty for overspeeding and a 10-minute time addition for dropping a spare wheel on Stage 5 meant that he was at all times on the again foot.
The Qatari driver fought again valiantly within the second week, lastly choosing up a win on the ninth check, however a navigation error on Stage 10 ended any hopes of clinching a podium end.
Behind Al-Attiyah, Mitch Guthrie Jr completed a strong fifth on his debut within the Final class, backing up the efficiency of Ford team-mate Ekstrom.
South African marque Century failed to attain a win within the 2025 Dakar, however Mathieu Serradori ended up a good sixth and simply over an hour down on winner Al-Rajhi.
X-raid made a resurgence within the Dakar this 12 months because it swapped the diesel engine on its Mini with petrol energy. Guillaume de Mevius scored a primary stage win for the British marque since 2021, whereas team-mate Joao Ferreira completed eighth within the general standings, behind Overdrive’s Juan Cruz Yacopini.
Seth Quintero scored two stage wins however was by no means in rivalry for the general win after a tricky run within the 48-hour check and punctures on Stage 4. He ended up ninth within the remaining order, as Century’s Brian Baragwanath rounded out the highest 10.
Dakar 2025 – Automobiles classification (High 10)
Pos
Driver
Automotive
Time/Hole
1
Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Toyota
52h52m15s
2
Henk Lategan
Toyota
3m57s
3
Mattias Ekstrom
Ford
20m21s
4
Nasser Al-Attiyah
Dacia
23m58s
5
Mitch Guthrie Jr
Ford
1h02m10s
6
Mathieu Serradori
Century
1h12m04s
7
Juan Cruz Yacopini
Toyota
1h57m47s
8
Joao Ferreira
Mini
2h15m57s
9
Seth Quintero
Toyota
2h20m04s
10
Brian Baragwanath
Century
2h59m26s
Photographs from Dakar Rally Stage 12
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