Yazeed al-Rajhi (Overdrive) won the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2025 rally on Monday, the formidable “48h clock”. The 43-year-old Saudi completed the 967 km special, spread over two days, in 10'56″54, despite a two-minute penalty for speeding. He is followed by the South African Henk Lategan at 4'16 .
Al-Rajhi led the race almost throughout the two days. Only Nasser al-Attiyah overtook him at kilometer 231, before being caught shortly before km 373. The Qatari finished third. “It was really very, very hard. I feel like we're on our tenth day of Dakar“, reacted Yazeed al-Rajhi upon his arrival at the bivouac of the rally, which began on Friday.
For this long stage, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert and did not benefit from the assistance of their teams at the night stop. Victim of a rollover on Sunday which seriously damaged his Ford Raptor, defending champion Carlos Sainz managed to finish the stage but 1h35 behind the leader.
Being half an hour late at the camp on Sunday evening, following a fan problem which overheated his engine, Frenchman Sébastien Loeb largely made up for his delay and finished 7th, at 13'10. The provisional general classification is dominated by Henk Lategan, ahead of Yazeed al-Rajhi and Nasser al-Attiyah.
IntenaBLE sanders
On the motorcycle side, Australian Daniel Sanders continues to dominate his category with new success. This third victory in a row, after the prologue and the first stage, is an unprecedented series in the motorcycle category since that achieved by the Spaniard Joan Barreda in 2017 between Bolivia and Argentina.
Winner of the last rally in Morocco, Daniel Sanders won on the handlebars of his KTM in 11'12″13, 6'45 ahead of Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Honda). The stage podium is completed by the American Skyler Howes (Honda).
For this long stage, spread over two days, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert and did not benefit from the assistance of their teams at the night stop.
Daniel Sanders aims to become the second Australian to win the Dakar on a motorcycle after Toby Price (2016 and 2018). He logically retains the lead in the provisional general classification, with 12'36 ahead of Skyler Howes. The third step is occupied by the Botswanan Ross Branch (Hero), four seconds behind the American.
