They opened the ball of the 2nd week. After the traditional day of rest, the American Ricky Brabec on the motorcycle and the Belgian Guillaume de Mevius on the car opened the ball for the second week of the Dakar 2025 in Saudi Arabia on Saturday by winning the 6th stage.
The provisional general classification remains dominated among the motorcycles by the Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM) with 11 min 46 sec ahead of the Spaniard Tosha Schareina (Honda). In the car category, South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) is still in the lead, 7 min 16 sec ahead of Saudi Yazeed al-Rajhi (Overdrive).
With their Mini, de Mevius and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel put an end to Toyota’s series of car stage victories by completing the 605 km special, including an untimed transfer of 171 km, between Haïl and Al Duwadimi in 04h 34min 49sec.
Chicherit gives up
Trailing South African Guy Botterill for a good part of the race, the Belgian ended up overtaking him around km 500.We wanted to grab time and points for the championship, so we gave it our all (…) we’re back on a better spiral after experiencing bad things in the first week“, declared the winner of the day.
The podium is completed by the Portuguese Joao Ferreira (Mini) and the Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah (Dacia). “We didn’t attack too hard, we tried to stay cautious today, especially because the next few days the bikes won’t be in front to open the track and we absolutely didn’t want to be too close to the openers.“, related the provisional leader of the ranking.
The day was marked by the abandonment of Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (Mini), who was making his 14th Dakar. Victim of rollover at km 16, he felt neck pain and requested evacuation by helicopter.
-“Big achievement” for Van Beveren
Likewise, on the motorbike, one of the favorites, the Botswanan Ross Branch, W2RC world champion and 4th in the general classification, was evacuated by medical helicopter after a fall at km 48. Double winner of the Dakar on motorbike, the Argentinian Kevin Benavides formalized his withdrawal during the rest day.
Among the two-wheelers, the American Ricky Brabec arrived on the top step of a podium within a pocket handkerchief by completing the special in 05h00 and 51sec. He is followed at 23 seconds by his teammate at Honda, the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren, then by the Chilean José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Hero) at 51 seconds.
Winner of the 5th stage, Van Beveren led the way almost throughout the day, obtaining bonus points which gave him the second best time of the special. “For me, when it’s physically hard, when it’s long, that’s my thing“, he said upon arrival in Al Duwadimi. “Today, opening at the speed I opened, with the pace I started, it was a big challenge and a big accomplishment for me“, he added.
Although he has given up a little ground, the Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM) continues to occupy the lead in the motorcycle rankings. The Dakar 2025 will have its epilogue on January 17 in the desert dunes of the Empty Quarter, on the border with the United Arab Emirates.
