who can win the 2025 Dakar?

The Dakar 2025, organized for the sixth consecutive time in Saudi Arabia, will start on Friday January 3 with a prologue around Bisha, to reach Shubaytah on January 17. More than 7,000 km await the competitors in the Car category, including 5,115 of which are special, and there will be many of them competing for the final victory.

If three multiple winners of the Dakar are at the start, the big absentee from this 47th edition will obviously be Stéphane Peterhansel, record holder of the event which he won six times on a motorcycle and eight times in a car. “Mr. Dakar”, away from the largest rally-raid in the world for the first time in 36 years, will undoubtedly carefully observe the contenders for final success in the general classification.

Favorites

Carlos Sainz

Four times winner of the Dakar (2010, 2018, 2020 and 2024) with as many different manufacturers, Carlos Sainz is also the title holder. A year after his success with Audi, whose rally-raid program ended, the 62-year-old Spanish veteran is embarking on a new adventure with Ford and M-Sport.

He will have to deal with a machine that is still young, which showed interesting pace at the Rallye du Maroc but also suffered from inevitable technical problems at this stage of its development. Will the experience of Sainz, who has 17 participations and 42 stage victories, be enough to make him a candidate for final victory again?

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider).

Photo: Dacia

Rally-raid specialist and five-time winner of the Dakar (2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023), Nasser Al-Attiyah is an obvious favorite at the time of the big start in Saudi Arabia.

Frustrated by his first with Prodrive, which he joined last year after leaving Toyota, the Qatari will this time be able to count on a more extensive and factory program, under the Dacia banner and the technical support of the Renault group. His victory at the Rallye du Maroc a few weeks ago says everything about his status.

Sébastien Loeb

Sébastian Loeb (Dacia Sandrider).

Photo: Dacia

The nine-time WRC world rally champion is still looking for his first major Dakar victory. In eight participations since 2016, Sébastien Loeb has won the scratch 28 times and has reached the final podium five times (three times in second place) but has never managed to climb to the top step. Having passed very close on several occasions, he too often experienced this hard blow that a very bad day in a rally raid sometimes brings.

Fully involved in the development of the Dacia Sandrider, continuing his initial work on the Prodrive Hunter, he will have to show that he can manage its mechanics in the manner of his formidable teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Nani Roma

Nani Roma (Ford Raptor).

Photo by: M-Sport

Winner on a motorcycle in 2004 then in a car ten years later, Nani Roma found, at the age of 52 and after battling cancer, the status of a contender by joining the brand new Ford M-Sport program.

His experience in the event will be a real asset but, as for Carlos Sainz, he will have to deal with a Raptor whose youthful concerns present the risk of being a handicap, particularly in terms of reliability.

Mattias Ekström

Mattias Ekstrom (Ford Raptor).

Photo by: DPPI

Converted to rally raid by joining the Audi program three years ago, Mattias Ekström is now fully dedicated to it with the firm intention of winning the Dakar in the years to come.

He has already proven, with four stage victories in the event, that he has the level in addition to the versatility that everyone recognizes in him. He will be the third man entered behind the wheel of a Ford Raptor in this 2025 edition.

Les outsiders

If the favorites for the final victory all have a new machine, we should not exclude the Toyota drivers with a Hilux more seasoned than ever on the Dakar. However, it remains to be seen whether Yazeed Al-Rajhi, still at ease in his native country, will be able to finally show consistency over the entire course, or whether the promising Brazilian driver Lucas Moraes will be able to confirm his progress.

No big favorite at Toyota, but outsiders to be taken seriously.

Photo from: Toyota

The Japanese manufacturer's clan can also always count on the immense experience of Giniel de Villiers, his South African compatriot Henk Lategan or even his American driver Seth Quintero.

At the same time, it will obviously be necessary to keep a keen eye on the new Mini version of X-Raid, notably with Guerlain Chicherit and Guillaume de Mévius at the wheel.

There is no doubt that, for the places of honor, Mathieu Serradori's Century buggy will remain, as usual, monitored like milk on the fire.

The main entrants in the Car category