Why the jury is still out on the Dakar’s route shake-up risk
Anyone who assumed the Dakar Rally had become too easy since leaving its spiritual home in Africa was taken aback by the first few days of the 2025 event in Saudi Arabia. The strategic decision to place the 48-hour stage near the very beginning caused havoc, taking out several heavyweights including four-time champion Carlos Sainz […]
Al-Rajhi strikes back to win, disaster for Al-Attiyah
Yazeed Al-Rajhi claimed an emphatic victory in Stage 4 of Dakar Rally to move to second in the overall standings behind Henk Lategan, as Nasser Al-Attiyah hit trouble. Having lost a heap of time in the third test of the rally on Tuesday, the local Saudi Al-Rajhi hit back in the 415km test between Al […]
Dakar modifies Stage 7 route on safety grounds
The Dakar Rally has announced that the route for Sunday’s Stage 7 has been modified to ensure the safety of competitors taking part in the event. With rain expected to hit the Al Duwadimi region where the seventh stage of 2025 is scheduled, organising body the ASO has decided to delay the start of the […]
Moraes wins from Ekstrom, Lategan’s lead wiped out
Toyota’s Lucas Moraes beat Ford rival Mattias Ekstrom to score victory on Stage 7 of Dakar Rally, as Henk Lategan’s advantage was almost entirely eliminated. Competitors faced a shorter 418km test around Al Duwadimi on Sunday, with the organisers having adjusted the route and the start timing to ensure medical helicopters could be deployed. A […]
Defender reveals challenger for 2026 Dakar Rally entry
Defender has announced the model with which it will compete in the upcoming 2026 Dakar Rally in the Stock category. The British manufacturer announced at the start of this month that it will enter the Dakar next year, although it remained to be known with which model it would do so. On Monday, Defender revealed […]
Roma fastest as Lategan retakes overall lead
Nani Roma scored Ford’s first stage victory of the 2025 Dakar Rally on Wednesday, while Toyota driver Henk Lategan recaptured the lead in the overall standings. Stage 10 marked the first visit to the unforgiving Empty Quarters desert in Saudi Arabia, as competitors tackled 120km of dunes and sand between Haradh and Shubaytah. The tricky […]
KTM scores crushing victory with Sanders amid insolvency
Daniel Sanders put in a dominant performance on his factory KTM to claim a maiden victory in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. In one of the most one-sided bike contests in recent history, Sanders led the bikes category from start to finish in the two-week marathon, outgunning Honda rival Tosha Schareina by a comfortable […]
Al-Rajhi usurps factory Toyotas to clinch surprise win
Yazeed Al-Rajhi outgunned factory Toyota rival Henk Lategan in a customer Hilux to claim an against-the-odds victory in the Dakar Rally. With newcomers Ford and Dacia still finding their feet in cross-country rallying and last year’s winner Audi having pulled out of the competition, the 47th edition of Dakar was effectively an all-Toyota affair. But […]
Who is Dakar winner and Saudi billionaire Yazeed Al-Rajhi?
The Dakar Rally has been held in several countries since its inaugural edition in 1979, but no driver had managed to lift the Touareg trophy on home soil until Yazeed Al-Rajhi this year. The Saudi driver won an atypical 2025 event in which a number of favourites fell by the wayside early on, with Carlos […]