Al Rajhi secures victory at Dakar

The 47th edition of the Dakar Rally -- the sixth to be run in Saudi Arabia -- was completed today by 175 vehicles. A total of 77 bikes (including 67 Rally 2), 40 Ultimate cars, 1 Stock car, 21 Challengers, 23 SSVs and 13 trucks reached the final finishing line after covering the entire 7,828 km (4,864 miles) of the route. Another 52 vehicles that used their jokers also finished, while 108 -- nearly a third -- were forced into premature exits from the world’s most grueling rally raid.

Ultimate: Patience proves the wiser for Al Rajhi

Toyota ruled the roost in the top class but with some new names up front in Yazeed Al Rahji and Henk Lategan. With a solid return to the Dakar with Toyota Gazoo Racing following his absence in 2024, Lategan moved into the lead at the halfway point, added a stage win and held steady until the ninth special when he suffered from having to open the way. Overdrive Racing’s Al Rahji, who was trailing in the South African’s wake until that day, took two tries to get ahead of the works driver with his Overdrive Racing Toyota, with the key difference on the loop around Shubaytah. The Saudi driver took revenge on the Empty Quarter where he was eliminated in 2024: on the eve of the finish, he had a lead of six minutes over his closest rival, which was sufficient to complete the rally with a lead of 3m57s and win his first Dakar title on his 11th try.

“I am very, very happy to do it -- it is not an easy race, it’s the toughest one that I’ve done in the last 11 years," said Al Rahji. "We have made a lot of records today: the first Saudi driver to win and also in the last 25 years no private team beat a factory team but we did it this time. Also, it’s the first time there is a winner on the Dakar from the same country in which it is raced, with a Saudi guy winning a Saudi Dakar. Today we took it easy, there was no need to push and we did a great job.”

Behind the leading Toyotas, the battle for the third step on the podium was contested by Mattias Ekstrom and Nasser Al Attiyah. The Swedish driver moved into third on stage three and never left the position. His consistency and stage victory in Shubaytah on stage 11 helped to soften the blow of Carlos Sainz’s premature exit for the Ford Raptor team.

Ekstrom especially kept his cool in the face of attacks from Al Attiyah, whose rare mistakes made alongside Edouard Boulanger were sufficient to keep him in fourth place, from the marathon stage onwards. For its debut on the race, Dacia had to deal with the disqualification of Sebastien Loeb for safety reasons but can still be happy with reaching the finish, a stage victory and an strong final position for its Qatari ace.

A second Raptor driven by America’s Mitch Guthrie finished fifth overall, while a ninth place by 22-year-old countryman Seth Quintero, who claimed a couple of stage wins, showed he’s ready to make his mark.

SSV: Heger keeps the crown for Polaris

The Polaris RZR drivers dominated the first three specials in the SSV race, with their designated rivals behind the wheels of the Can-Am Maverick R suffering due to their greenness on the race or because of mechanical problems. The RZRs driven by title holder Xavier de Soultrait and rookie Brock Heger led the general rankings from start to finish.

The advantage was with the American from Stage 4 onwards after the French reigning champion damaged his front-end assembly. Two more repetitions of this setback finally deprived de Soultrait of an overall podium place on completion of the penultimate stage, while Heger romped home to win by 2h6m over Can-Am's "Chalaco" Lopez.

“Today’s my birthday, so I figured I needed to treat myself to a good birthday present," said Heger. "So, we’re the Dakar champions and it's pretty crazy to think about it. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but I’m sure on my plane ride back to the USA it will sink in. It’s a pretty cool accomplishment.

"We were pretty much near the podium every day, so it was a super cool experience. Overall, it was something I’ll never forget.”

Sara Price, who was forced to exit the special on the 48 hour chrono stage due to a mechanical problem with her Can-Am, kept her name in lights with two stage wins.

Bikes: All about Sanders

The bike race witnessed a return to the top step of the podium for KTM, which enjoyed its 20th triumph at Dakar thanks to the unshakable Daniel Sanders. The Australian dominated the race from start to finish.

Sanders was the main man in the first week of the rally, winning four out of the six specials, and managed his lead perfectly in the Empty Quarter. He  became the first rider to win when leading the general rankings from start to finish since Marc Coma in 2009.

Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

“When I came out of the dunes, I could see the bivouac and I just got instant chills through my whole body," Sanders said. "All the emotions started coming through and I could see the finish line. It’s the biggest race in the world of motorbikes and off-roading. To win the six-day international enduro and now the Dakar, it’s just ticked off all the goals for my career and everything I’ve wanted to achieve. It’s a massive accomplishment.”

Honda placed two machines on the podium with Tosha Schareina besting Adrien Van Beveren. Luciano Benavides achieved his best result thus far with fourth, while last year's winner, America's Ricky Brabec, completed the top five.

Challenger: Cavigliasso all the way

Nicolas Cavigliasso and his wife Valentina Pertegarini remained in the lead of the general rankings from Bisha onwards. The Argentinean couple avoided all the pitfalls on the route of the Dakar and finished with a lead of more than one hour over their nearest pursuers.

“We are so happy. We’ve trained a lot to be here, to be competitive and today, winning another Dakar for me is amazing," said Cavigliasso. "During the first week we tried to push and to obtain good stage results and I was so happy with that because we won three stages. On the rest day we had a 30-minute gap. That made it better for us to try to push while being careful in some dangerous parts. But now we’ve finished and we are the winners. It was an amazing Dakar and we are both very, very happy.”

The two recruits to the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team who were making their debuts in the big league managed to leave their mark on the Dakar. Due to mechanical problems before the rally’s halfway point, Corbin Leaverton was unable to shine in the general rankings but the American achieved five stage podium finishes, including two victories. His teammate Gonçalo Guerreiro, who already boasted experience on the European circuit, displayed consistency by climbing onto four stage podiums without winning. The Portuguese driver finished in second position, 1h11m38s behind the winner.