Al Rajhi Grabs Dakar Rally Lead as Sainz and Loeb Face Major Setbacks
Toyota's Yazeed Al Rajhi has taken the lead in the 2025 Dakar Rally during the first half of the 947km 48-hour chrono stage. He leads Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia) by 1m19s, with Mattias Ekstrom's Ford Raptor in third position.
Desert racing car in action
Major setbacks hit two key contenders: Carlos Sainz flipped his Ford Raptor, losing nearly 50 minutes despite teammate Mitch Guthrie's assistance in righting the vehicle. Sebastien Loeb's Dacia suffered a defective fan, costing him 30 minutes.
Rookie Toby Price, a two-time Dakar bike champion, impressed in the Ultimate class, positioning his Overdrive Toyota just 16m20s behind the stage leaders, alongside co-driver Sam Sunderland.
In the SSV class, American Brock Heger and teammate Xavier de Soultrait dominated, while strong winds disrupted their closest competitors Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli and "Chaleco" López.
The motorcycle category saw continued dominance from the top three riders. Daniel Sanders leads the virtual overall standings by 4m02s over American Ricky Brabec, with Ross Branch 5m59s behind the leader.
Nicolas Cavigliasso leads the Challenger class, positioned to win the 48h chrono stage and take the overall lead. American Corbin Leaverton holds sixth place in the virtual overall ranking, just behind Red Bull Junior teammate Gonçalo Guerreiro.
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