Al Rajhi and Toyota defy the odds and win the Dakar!

The suspense was reduced at the start of the 12th and final stage of the Dakar 2025, but we still had to cross the finish line to seal a general classification that was apparently well established since the day before. The day after a decisive takeover, Yazeed Al Rajhi had to finish to win the Grail, maintaining his 6'11 lead over Henk Lategan.

The final special was a 61 km loop designed around Shubaytah, still in the Empty Quarter desert, and with a rather advantageous format for the leader since the start was grouped. If the bikers set off in waves of 15, there were four for the Cars, which finally made it possible to send on the road the quartet which animated these last days of competition.

Only a mechanical glitch or a big mistake still seemed capable of depriving Yazeed Al Rajhi of the final victory, which the Saudi skilfully avoided in his garden. He who was among the outsiders of this Dakar 2025, like Toyota, has become a solid pillar who has found the consistency that he lacked in recent years.

At the finish of the stage, Yazeed Al Rajhi and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk crossed the line 2'52 behind Henk Lategan, who was thus unable to deprive his teammate of the announced success.

At 43 years old, the eleventh start on the Dakar is therefore the consecration for Yazeed Al Rajhi, who reached his first podium in 2022 with third place, already with Toyota. Forced to retire last year, for the third time since his first participation, this time he demonstrated impeccable consistency.

First in the WRC before devoting himself to rally raids, he completed this 47th edition with a stage victory to his credit (the fifth of his career) and after having executed an excellent strategy by ceding control of the rally. on the eve of the decisive day in the dunes, Thursday. The previous week, he also made an impression with his performance in the 48H Chrono stage.

Behind him, Henk Lategan finished a good second. The South African, who has led the general classification eight times, will certainly have regrets, but he knows that the desert cost him dearly as the dunes still remain a weak point. At 30 years old and only four Dakars under his belt, his progress remains to be closely monitored: retirement in 2021, 31st in 2022, 5th in 2023, and now on the podium!

One thing is certain, this Toyota double thwarts most predictions. As was already the case in the past, the Japanese manufacturer demonstrated the effectiveness of a Hilux which remains formidable and reliable, facing competitors who came with large resources. This is the fourth time that the Japanese brand has won the Dakar, after its three successes with Nasser Al-Attiyah in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Ford takes a date, Dacia grimaces

The podium, Mattias Ekström and the entire Ford clan will undoubtedly savor it for this great premiere of the much-noticed Raptor, whose top speed is now proven. The Swede, who aspires to win the event in the years to come, was solid and resisted to the end the five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, whose fourth place will certainly retain a bitter taste, both for him as for his co-driver Édouard Boulanger and for Dacia.

On the French side, it is therefore towards Mathieu Serradori and Loïc Minaudier that we must turn. For their first with a four-wheel drive, the two Frenchmen did very well while the resources of the independent Century remained modest. Particularly consistent, making few errors, they achieved a magnificent sixth place in the final.

The story of this Dakar remains that of a takeover of power by the outsiders and the youngest, names certainly less high-sounding but in no way less deserving, while the title holder Carlos Sainz and Sébastien Loeb broke their teeth too much. quickly, and that the record holder of the event Stéphane Peterhansel was largely absent. However, it is too early to say that a page has been turned, and curiosity is already piqued to know what a clash of generations could hold in store in 2026!

Final ranking Cars