Dakar 2025 ranking, stage 3:
Provisional general ranking:
- Toyota is curling its mustaches on this Dakar 2025. The Japanese manufacturer won the 3rd stage of the Dakar, located between Bisha and Al Henakiyah this Tuesday, January 7, thanks to Saood Variawa and François Cazalet. Toyota actually won 100% of the stages at the start of the race, Prologue included!
- The stage was shortened by 169 km following bad weather. The “sprint” format of this special (327 km all the same) and the simplicity of the route laid out in order to rest the drivers and mechanics between the 48 Hours Chrono and the marathon stage explain the small differences noted today. Indeed, Variawa-Cazalet won with only a 23-second margin over Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq (Mini), and 1’48” over Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz (Toyota).
- Leaders at the start of this day, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (Toyota) maintain 1st place but the South Africans lost 3 minutes on Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger (Dacia).
- The big losers of the stage are Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin (Dacia). Having rolled over at km 12, they then lost 40 minutes in a mechanics session. The Alsatian driver and his Belgian co-driver reached the finish line 1h03 late, and are 1h14′ behind in the general classification. Their chances of winning the 2025 Dakar are compromised.
- To a lesser extent, Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk (Toyota) also suffered. On home soil, the Saudi pilot spent a quarter of an hour, even though he benefited from a favorable starting position. Overall, he lost two positions, and fell to the foot of the podium, behind Al-Attiyah (2nd) and Mattias Ekström (Ford, 3rd). The latter continues to valiantly defend the colors of the American brand in the wake of the abandonment of leader Carlos Sainz, and the mechanical setbacks of Nani Roma.
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