DAKAR 2025: Stage 2b / 2b Etappe – all classes: VIDEO-Highlights, report & results + MEGA-GALLERY!

DAKAR Stage 2b

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FOCUS

The return journey to Bisha to complete the 48 HR Chrono expedition to the northeast of the city required passing through a 90-kilometre portion of grey dunes which may have given some of the competitors grey hairs. The cars and trucks then made their way through sumptuous canyons, where the narrow tracks allowed Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška to express his agility. In the bike race, the finish took place on a sequence of high plateaus and portions of dunes without any specific difficulties, on which Daniel Sanders, who was the 7ᵗʰ rider to set off this morning, opened the throttle to catch his rivals and pick up a third consecutive victory on the Dakar 2025.

OUTLINE

• Daniel Sanders, winner of the prologue and the rally’s first two stages, passed the major test of the 48 HR Chrono stage with flying colours. However, he only slightly improved his advantage in the general rankings and now has a lead of 12’36’’ over Skyler Howes, and 12’40’’ over Ross Branch, who completes the provisional podium.
• The forefront of the bike race still has a strong red tint to it, with the Hondas of Howes, Schareina (4^th), Brabec (5^th) and Van Beveren (6^th) present in the top six.
• Yazeed Al Rajhi, who lost out big time on the 48 HR Chrono stage in 2024, thought he had achieved the best accumulated time over the two days, but it was in fact Rokas Baciuška, recredited time lost after faulty refuelling, who won for the first time in his very youthful career at the age of 25 years. However, this did not prevent the Saudi driver from once again battling at the forefront of the rally. Henk Lategan, after shining on the prologue, also had a good day and took command of the general rankings thanks to his 2^nd place finish. Nasser Al Attiyah is still ready to pounce despite a 4-minute penalty for speeding, and currently occupies third position in the race hierarchy.
• The stage around Bisha proved difficult for Sébastien Loeb, who regained time on the second day but nevertheless trails the leader by 13’08’’, and especially Carlos Sainz, who dropped down the rankings by 1 hour and 28 minutes due to rolling his car onto its roof during stage 2A and this accident’s ensuing consequences. He was 1 hour 28 minutes behind at the finishing line, but a deformed roll bar forced him to prematurely exit the Dakar.
• He was not among the prominent favourites in the category, but Dutchman Paul Spierings surprised everybody on the 48 HR Chrono stage, starting with Nicolás Cavigliasso, who was deprived of a stage victory by just 2 seconds, yet who has retained his position as general rankings leader.
• The Polaris are establishing their domination over the beginning of this Dakar in the SSV category, with a stage won by Brock Heger in addition to his success on the prologue and Xavier de Soultrait’s victory on the first stage. The two men currently occupy the first two places in the general rankings, with the Frenchman in the lead, boasting a lead of already more than one hour over third placed Alexandre Pinto.
• A trio of pretenders for the crown emerged on the 48 HR Chrono stage, made up of Martin Macík, Aleš Loprais and Vaidotas Žala who finished the largest chunk against the clock of this first week in this order. In particular, they have opened a gap over Mitchel van den Brink, who trails by 1 hour and 16 minutes in 4^th place in the general rankings.

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY

Unexpected developments are somewhat of a speciality for Rokas Baciuška, who notably experienced the bitter sting of seeing Eryk Goczał take advantage of his mechanical problems the day before the finish of the 2023 edition, in which he dominated the SSV category until the last stage. This year, following three consecutive W2RC titles, the Lithuanian driver is tackling his biggest challenge so far by taking starter’s orders in the Ultimate class, a logical follow-up in the emergence of his talent. However, in the very first stage, his enthusiasm pushed him into making a mistake and especially veering off the tracks, resulting in a rear wheel being torn off his Hilux. The young man, who everybody agrees bears more than a passing resemblance to Harry Potter, did not lose heart and took advantage of his starting position in 38th place on the 48 HR Chrono to hit the turbo on his four-wheeled ‘firebolt’. After two days and almost 1,000 kilometres, he picked up a stage victory in the queen category, confirming a major trend on the 47^th edition of the Dakar: the rally’s roll of honour has witnessed the inscription of the names of Seth Quintero (22 years old), Saood Variawa (19 years old), Corbin Leavertone (24 years old) and Mitchel van den Brink (23 years old). At the age of 25 years, Baciuška, who could almost have been the youngest winner in the history of the category, could already claim the status of a big brother figure!

A CRUSHING BLOW

DAKAR Stage 2b

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3 OUT OF 3

KOVE BIKES

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Quote of the Day

Sébastien Loeb: “It was looking much worse yesterday”

 “It was a very long stage, nearly one thousand kilometres. We had a big problem with the engine heating because of fan problems. We lost around 40 minutes on the first part of the stage. But since then, it was repaired and we pushed to the maximum. We gained a lot of time back, so we finished the stage 14 minutes from the leader, so it’s not so bad. It was looking much worse yesterday”.

TRUCKS – Onboard Loprais

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The makings of classic

While the 5th edition of the Dakar Classic has witnessed the emergence of veritable specialists for whom victory has become an obsession, there are four crews who have decided to attend for the purely emotional aspect. The Dutch, led by Erik van Loon, a former Dakar competitor with a fourth place on the rally in 2015 as a notable feat of arms, have entered the only vehicles registered in H4, the category with the highest average speed. It is reserved for the quickest and most recent vehicles and they have launched a race within the race – a race for pleasure! The replicas of the two Dakar Audi Quattro cars enrolled in 1985 and driven by the expert handlers Bernard Darniche and Xavier Lapeyre, were developed using the 600 hp WRC Group B models of the time as a basis. These Dakar versions ‘only’ boast 500 hp, for a weight of 1,350 kg. All in all, it is a fine nod to Audi, Dakar 2024 title holder for the first time in the rally’s history.

World Rally Raid Championship

The 2025 FIM rules for the W2RC now rewards Rally 2 rider support units with a Team title, a reflection to that of constructor (reserved for official teams) and for which BAS World KTM Racing has been the leading candidate during these first days of racing. Indeed, in Rally 2, Edgar Canet is dominating the proceedings, but the Catalan is registered with the official KTM team. However, a minimum of two people in a team are required to score points in this new team ranking. For the moment, behind the 19-year-old revelation, there are three representatives of the Dutch team: Michael Docherty, Tobias Ebster and Mathieu Dovèze. Satellite team Honda RS Moto seemed well set to play the role of outsiders with Jacob Argubright and newcomer Paolo Lucci. However, following a premature exit from the rally due to a fall, the Italian leaves the American as the only rider to defend the red colours, with Romain Dumontier, somewhat like Canet, being the only rider in the Honda Team supported by HRC.

ERGEBNISSE / Results – BIKES

OVERALL – BIKES

ERGEBNISSE / Results – Original by Motul

OVERALL – Original by Motul

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CARS

OVERALL – CARS

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CHALLENGER

OVERALL – CHALLENGER

ERGEBNISSE / Results – SSV

OVERALL – SSV

ERGEBNISSE / Results – TRUCKS

OVERALL – TRUCKS

ERGEBNISSE / Results – CLASSIC

OVERALL – CLASSIC

FULL RESULTS / ALLE ERGEBNISSE: LINK

GALLERY STAGE 2b

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Quelle / Source: DAKAR, A.S.O