DAKAR 2025: Stage 12 + FINISH/ 12.Etappe – all classes: VIDEO-Highlights, report & results + MEGA-GALLERY!

DAKAR Stage 12 – BEST OF

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Key points

• The 47^th edition of the Dakar and the 6th in Saudi Arabia was completed in Shubaytah by 175 vehicles. 77 bikes (including 67 Rally 2), 40 Ultimate cars, 1 Stock car, 21 Challengers, 23 SSVs and 13 trucks reached the final finishing line after covering the entire 7,453 km (FIM) or 7,828 km (FIA) of the route. 52 vehicles that used their jokers also finished, while 108 were forced into premature exits from the rally (i.e., 32.24%).
• The bike race witnessed a return to the top step of the podium for KTM, which enjoyed its 20th triumph on the race thanks to the unshakable Daniel Sanders who became the second Australian winner on the Dakar after having dominated the race from start to finish, as Marc Coma did in 2009.
• The Dakar roll of honour welcomed a new name and a new nationality in the car category thanks to Yazeed Al Rajhi: the Saudi driver persevered until his 11^th participation to enjoy his date with destiny, with the rare privilege of winning the rally on home soil, as was the case when Pierre Lartigue triumphed in 1994 on the Paris-Dakar-Paris!
• With Nicolas Cavigliasso (who triumphed in the quad category in 2019) winning the title in the Challenger class and Brock Heger in the SSV race on his 25^th birthday, two new drivers also triumphed. Only Martin Macik, who dominated proceedings in the truck category, victoriously defended the title he conquered last year.
• The Dakar Classic race for consistency came to a close with 80 vehicles (as opposed to 95 starters). Spanish title holder Carlos Santaolalla triumphed to become the first double winner since the creation of the category in 2021.
• The five vehicles enrolled in the Mission 1000 challenge completed their journey through Saudi Arabia, over a distance of 1,300 kilometres for this second edition. Progress was made since last year in terms of range and performance for the KH7 truck driven by Jordi Juvanteny, who already won in 2024, as for the hydrogen-powered HySe SSV. The three Segway electric bikes, which were newcomers to the challenge, also validated their technology on the terrains of the Dakar and can look forward with a whetted appetite to 2026.

ERGEBNISSE / Results – BIKES

OVERALL – BIKES

ERGEBNISSE / Results – Bikes Rally 2

OVERALL – Bikes Rally 2

ERGEBNISSE / Results – Bikes Original by Motul

OVERALL – Bikes Original by Motul

ULTIMATE: PATIENCE PROVES THE WISER FOR AL RAJHI

• With a solid return to the Dakar following his absence in 2024, Henk Lategan moved into the lead at the halfway point, added a stage success to his roll of honour and held steady until the ninth special when he suffered from having to open the way. Yazeed Al Rajhi, who was trailing in the South African’s wake until that day, took two tries to get ahead of him and particularly make the difference on the loop around Shubaytah. The Saudi driver took revenge on the Empty Quarter where he was eliminated in 2024: on the eve of the finish, he had a lead of six minutes over his closest rival, which was sufficient to complete the rally with a lead of 3’57’’ and win his first title on his eleventh participation. Among previous Dakar winners, only Jean-Louis Schlesser was just as relentless before triumphing in 1999.
• Behind the duellists who featured at the forefront throughout the rally, the battle for the third step on the podium was contested by Mattias Ekstrom and Nasser Al Attiyah. The Swedish driver moved into third on stage three and never left the position. His consistency and stage victory in Shubaytah (on stage 11) helped to soften the blow of Carlos Sainz’s premature exit for the Ford clan, which left its mark on its first appearance on the Dakar. Ekstrom especially kept his cool in the face of attacks from Nasser Al Attiyah, whose rare mistakes made alongside Edouard Boulanger were sufficient to keep him in fourth place, from the marathon stage onwards. For its debut on the race, Dacia had to deal with the disqualification of Sébastien Loeb for safety reasons but can still be happy with reaching the finish, a stage victory and an honourable final position for its Qatari champion.
• X-raid also inaugurated a car, with the new petrol-powered Mini, though it leaves Saudi Arabia with meagre spoils: a stage win for Guillaume de Mévius, who had already lost all hope of battling with the best for the title, before a spectacular crash sent Guerlain Chicherit back to his home in the French Alps. The leading Mini to finish was brought home by Joao Ferreira, who achieved 8^th position at the age of 25 years, but in a diesel-powered version.
• In the top 10 positions desired by many competitors at the start, a second Raptor driven by Mitch Guthrie broke into the ranks of the elite (with 5^th place), while the switch to T1+ by Mathieu Serradori allowed him to improve his personal best by one position (6^th). At the end of the day, sensations from young talented drivers were less visible than in the first week but with 7^th place by 25-year-old Argentinean Juan Cruz Yacopini and 9^th place by 22-year-old Seth Quintero, the Dakar youth have confirmed that the new generation of drivers is continuing to make steady progress.
• Following the premature exits of Laia Sanz and then Christian Lavieille, Pierre Lachaume has proved to be the leading two-wheel-drive competitor, almost two hours ahead of his Spanish MD Rallye Sport team-mate Ferran Jubany.

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CARS

OVERALL – CARS

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CHALLENGER

OVERALL – CHALLENGER

SSV: HEGER KEEPS THE TROPHY FOR POLARIS

• The Polaris drivers dominated the first three specials in the SSV race, with their designated rivals behind the wheels of the Can-Am Maverick R suffering due to their greenness on the race or because of mechanical problems. The RZRs driven by title holder Xavier de Soultrait and rookie Brock Heger led the general rankings from start to finish.
• The advantage was with the American from stage 4 onwards when the French title holder damaged his front-end assembly. Two more repetitions of this setback finally deprived Xavier de Soultrait of an overall podium place on completion of the penultimate stage. Brock Heger triumphed on his first participation allowing Polaris to keep the Tuareg trophy.
• ‘Chaleco’ Lopez, who returned to the category after three editions of the Dakar in the Challenger class, lost all chance of overall victory on stage 2. The Chilean subsequently made a storming comeback, picking up five stage successes, a record for this edition of the rally, shared with biker Daniel Sanders and truck driver Martin Macik, allowing the official Can-Am driver to finish in 2^nd place, albeit more than 2 hours behind the winner.
• Sara Price, who was forced to exit the special on the 48 HR Chrono stage due to a mechanical problem, won three stages. The American is the most successful woman driver in terms of stage wins on this edition, ahead of Dania Akeel.
• Alexandre Pinto finished in 3^rd position in the general rankings, more than 3 hours behind Heger. The young 25-year-old Portuguese driver is the leading privateer in the category

ERGEBNISSE / Results – SSV

OVERALL – SSV

TRUCKS: MACIK MAKES IT NUMBER TWO

• The title holder put in a perfect performance. Following a three-way fight with Ales Loprais and truck category newcomer Vaidotas Zala, the Czech driver soared away as from stage 3, taking complete control of the general rankings following his rivals’ mishaps on the 48 HR Chrono stage. The boss of MM Technology won five stages, as many as Loprais, which is the joint record on this edition.
• The fight for second place was then contested by Ales Loprais and Mitchel ven den Brink. Following 4^th place in 2022 and 3^rd place in 2024, the young Dutchman, who celebrated his 23^rd birthday on stage 9, finished in second position, 5’30’’ ahead of the Czech driver.

ERGEBNISSE / Results – TRUCKS

OVERALL – TRUCKS

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CLASSIC

OVERALL – CLASSIC

WITHDRAWAL all stages / Ausgeschieden

FULL RESULTS / ALLE ERGEBNISSE: LINK

GALLERY STAGE 12

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Quelle / Source: DAKAR, A.S.O