Written by Jackson Lambros, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The 2025 Dakar Rally culminated with first-time winners in classes, as Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi claimed overall victory in the T1 Ultimate Division, outgunning South African Henk Lategan. On the bikes, Australian Daniel Sanders dominated in Rally GP, becoming the first to lead the entirety of the race since 2009.
After over 7,000 kilometers of racing, only four minutes separated the top two drivers. It seemed like Henk Latigan’s race in T1, but Al Rajhi became a late contender, as they’d swap the lead in the ultimate class throughout the final three stages.
The decisive moment came in stage 11, with Latigan at the front end of the field. Struggling to match the pace of the later-starting Al Rajhi, he’d end the stage six minutes back on the Saudi racer, a gap he’d ultimately never get back.
“We really gave it our best,” Lategan said back at the bivouac. “We had a great race, it’s sad to lose it by such a small margin with everything that’s happened but we will come back fighting ...
“I definitely feel I’ve gained a lot of experience. This is my third full Dakar. We’ll keep pushing and I’ll work my hardest to come back and win this race”.
And so it was all eyes on hometown hero Yazeed Al Rajhi. The Saudi’s victory in the empty quarter marks the first time the nation has claimed a winner, as well as becoming a driver to win the rally on home soil.
Third in the ultimates was Ford’s Mattias Ekström, who held the final podium position since stage three.
The Swede would hold off Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was charging hard late in the rally, But it was too little too late for Al Attiyah, the Qatari four minutes away from a podium on debut for Dacia.
Rally GP: Sanders stuns competition in Saudi to win 2025 Dakar Rally
It was another first-time winner in the Bikes class, as Australian Daniel Sanders would take victory for KTM.
It was a game of strategy for ‘Chucky’, using starting order to his advantage, the KTM rider took four of the six initial stages, and focused on maintaining his lead after the rest day.
It’s the first time a rider has led the contest from start to finish since Marc Coma’s in 2009, and the third Australian victory on bikes following Toby Price’s victories in 2016 and 2018.
He’s just the second Aussie to win, following Toby Price’s triumphs in 2016 and 2018. He also became the first biker to lead the entire race since Marc Coma in 2009, an achievement Sanders couldn’t believe until the very end.
“When I came out of the dunes… I could see the bivouac and just got instant chills through my whole body,” an emotional Sanders said. “I was super nervous and couldn’t believe it.
“To win the six-day international enduro and now the Dakar, it’s just ticked off all the goals for my career and everything I wanted to achieve. Even after the last three years of a lot of lows, we’ve got a lot of ups, now we’ve got the ups, so all the hard work’s paid off”.
Honda rounds out the Rally GP podium, with Toscha Scharaina achieving his initial podium finish, and Adrien van Bevern matches his result of third from last year.
History was also made in Rally Two, as the youngest winner happened to be the youngest rider in Dakar history.
Aged just 19, Edgar Canet not only cruised to a Rally 2 victory. but showed front-running pace amongst the Rally GP riders as well, consistently running in the top 10. A finish of eighth overall could only be put as “f*****g crazy” in Canet’s words.
“The best moment was when I finished the prologue. I knew I was really in the Dakar and making a good race debut,” the Spaniard added.
“When you arrive on a race and you can stay in front for the first year, it’s an amazing feeling. I’ll keep working and be back even more ready for next year.”
The Original by Motul Class saw a close but controversial battle between Emanual Gyenes and Benjamin Melot dueling until the final kilometre.
With the mass launches on the final stage Friday, the two started together, but the digital system for Merlot’s bike failed to register a waypoint.
Emotional and exhausted, the Frenchman Merlot collapsed back at the Bivouac. “It was my objective, my dream. I’ve been chasing it for years,” said a teary-eyed Merlot. Gynes won the category by three minutes.
More history was made this week on stage 10 when Dania Akeel was the fastest in the T3 division.
The first Saudi woman with a stage win to her name, she joins a sorority of only three other drivers thus far. She did so in a blistering pace as well, being the third fastest car overall, just two minutes behind T1 Winner Nani Roma.
But nobody could top Nicolas Cavigliasso in the Challengers. After winning the Dakar in the quad category in 2019, he proposed to his girlfriend, Valentina Pertegarini on the podium in Lima.
Since then, Cavigliasso has traded in the quad for a t3, and his wife ‘Valen’ has switched from the sidelines to shotgun, navigating for her husband.
In their third Dakar as a pair, the two have finally claimed victory in T3, getting their Team BBR Taurus early lead in Bisha and up to a 30-minute advantage before the rest day. They finished a staggering 1 hour and 11 minutes ahead of Goncalo Guerrero.
“It’s an amazing day for us to win in the Dakar in the Challenger class which is a very competitive class,” Cavigliasso said on the podium.
“We’ve trained a lot to be here, to be very competitive and today, winning another Dakar for me is amazing.”
The final day also marked the 25th birthday of SSV pilot Brock Heger. His present to himself? A first Dakar victory. The Californian has long been attuned to desert racing, competing in numerous events across Mexico.
With an incredible two-hour lead over next-best Chaleco Lopez at the finish, it’s hard to believe that this is Hegers first Roadbook Rally.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, but I’m sure on my plane ride back to the US it’s gonna sink in,” He said. I’m just super excited about everything.
"We were pretty much near the podium every day, so it was a super cool experience…I’m super thankful to be able to come and compete this year.”
Martin Macick claimed back-to-back victories in the Trucks, with the MM technology machine putting 2 hours and 20 minutes on the rest of the field.
With a major lead at the halfway point, Macik was “not sure but confident” in his crew’s performance, but a difficult opening stages allowed the Czech Trio of Macik Tomasek and Svanda to cruise towards their second consecutive Dakar.
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