Saudi Arabian Yazeed al-Rajhi (Overdrive) won his first Dakar rally raid in the car category, at the end of the 12th and final stage on Friday in Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia.
He is ahead of South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) by just 3 min 57 sec and Swede Mattias Ekström (Ford) by 20 min 21 sec, subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA. This is the first coronation of a Saudi on the Dakar, based in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
Coming from a wealthy family who made their fortune in banking, the 43-year-old driver, himself director of several companies, had to wait for his 11th participation to finally win recognition.
Vice-world champion of rally raids (W2RC) for the last two seasons, al-Rajhi finally managed to beat his eternal Qatari rival Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia), three-time reigning W2RC world champion and five-time winner of the Dakar (2011). , 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023).
At his side, the Saudi had a formidable weapon, his experienced German co-driver Timo Gottschalk (50 years old), winner of the Dakar in 2011 with…Al Attiyah.
Sanders crowned on motorcycle
Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM) won his first motorcycle Dakar Rally after the 12th and final stage on Friday in Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia.
-The 30-year-old driver, who took 6th time in the last special, finished with a lead of 8 min 50 seconds overall ahead of the Honda of Spaniard Tosha Schareina. “It was a tough racereacted the winner upon arrival. But it was really, really exhilarating to see the finish line once the (last, editor's note) dune was crossed. I saw the whole bivouac, I smiled and I got chills all over my body (…), I will never forget this moment“.
Dominant from start to finish
The second Australian to win the Dakar on a motorcycle after Toby Price (2016 and 2019), Sanders took the lead in the general classification from the first laps of this 47th edition of the famous rally-raid.
Untouchable until the end in the Saudi desert, he notably has three victories in a row, including the prologue on January 3 – an unprecedented series in the motorcycle category since that achieved by the Spaniard Joan Barreda in 2017 between Bolivia and the 'Argentina. In addition to the prologue, the Australian won a total of four stages for his 5th participation in the Dakar.
I made three, but I think I was even better
Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) finished third, as in 2024.It's a third place, but has a lot of flavor. Last year I made three, but I think I was even better this year” enjoyed the 34-year-old Northerner. “I came across two very strong opponents“, he also admitted. The American Ricky Brabec (Honda), victorious in the 2024 motorcycle edition, finished 5th.
