The story of the biggest crashes so far

The Dakar Rally is a legendary race, renowned for its dramatic moments and unforgiving challenges. Check out some of the obstacles competitors faced during the 2025 race and how they coped with adversity. For some favorites, the race ended very far from the finish line.

01

Laia Sanz’s race against time

“The day didn’t start as we hoped,” explains Spaniard Laia Sanz about her first retirement in 15 Dakars. “We had a very good starting position; at kilometer 20 we already had no third gear, which was difficult to manage because we had to go from second to fourth, then the navigation system stopped working and Giniel [de Villiers] passed me, I found myself in the dust and hit a large rock which, unfortunately, caused us to topple over.

What followed was a race against time for Sanz, who, along with the support truck team, attempted to repair the car to get it to the next checkpoint in time for it to continue its Dakar 2025 “We managed to reach the end of the race by two minutes,” said Sanz. “It was close and I can’t be happy today, but at least we went all the way and I hope we can start tomorrow. »

It’s a feeling I didn’t know until now, because I was able to finish all the other Dakars

However, during inspection by the Dakar safety team, it was found that the roll bar had been deformed by the accident and the vehicle was unsafe, which ended the Sanz race: “We must respect the decision, even if it is painful. It’s a feeling I didn’t know until now because I was able to finish all the other Dakars, so now I know it and it’s so hard! I hope to come back next year and have better luck. »

02

A boost for Carlos Sainz

Reigning champion Carlos Sainz knows both adversity and Dakar glory: the four-time winner flipped his Ford Raptor T1+ during the second stage of this year’s edition. Fortunately, his teammate Mitch Guthrie Jr came to his rescue: “We were driving and we saw Carlos on the side. We just saw it, we couldn’t see the car until we stopped and it was at the base of the dune, turned over,” Guthrie says. “He asked us if we could roll it; of course we were going to help Carlos…after all, he’s Carlos! So we helped him. I feel sorry for him, but at least we did everything we could. »

It’s probably the hardest race in the world and whatever happens, you have to try to keep going.

Although his car suffered significant visible damage to the front, El Matador was able to continue moving forward and reach the bivouac that night. However, in a story that will sound familiar to compatriot Sanz, the FIA ​​refused to let Sainz continue his quest for a fifth Dakar title after a safety defect was found on the car’s roll bar .

“We brought the car here today for further inspection and the roll bar was very slightly damaged,” he commented. “The team lobbied the FIA ​​to authorize the repair, but we failed to convince them, and so we have to stop the race. I am very disappointed. It’s probably the hardest race in the world and the spirit is always to try to keep going. »

03

Disappointment for Sébastien Loeb

The third stage saw the abandonment of another favorite of the Dakar 2025. Sébastien Loeb went off the road spectacularly, leaving pieces of bodywork scattered on the sand. Fortunately, he and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin remained unhurt. The French left the car in the following seconds to immediately inspect the damage.

“It was a difficult stage,” Loeb recalls. “I drove at the start of the special into a small ditch that I hadn’t seen and we destroyed two tires. We left after five minutes, so it was pretty quick.”

Unfortunately, a few hours later it was concluded that the damage suffered by the Dacia Sandrider was simply too great for them to continue, and the FIA ​​decided to disqualify the WRC king. The world rally champion’s ninth attempt to win the Dakar therefore ended in failure.

04

The team spirit of Cristina Gutiérrez

More bad news for Dacia: Christina Gutiérrez was also excluded from the general classification following a technical failure.

“Our focus is different now. It’s about helping the team and that’s what we’re doing,” Gutiérrez said, taking the loss in stride. If she didn’t win the Dakar, it’s not over yet.

“It’s important for us to still be in the race because we’ve done a lot of kilometers, we’ve trained a lot. So it was obvious for us to help the team. We scored points for the championship, and for us it’s super important because it’s our first year in T1. Plus, anything can happen at the Dakar Rally. Giving up wasn’t an option, but safety always comes first. »

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