Al-Rajhi storms into lead as Sainz and Loeb hit trouble

Toyota privateer Yazeed Al-Rajhi moved into the lead of the Dakar Rally after the first half of the 48-hour chrono stage on Sunday, with Dacia’s Nasser Al-Attiyah in hot pursuit in second.

Following a successful debut in 2024, ASO implemented the new marathon stage format again this time, with competitors facing an arduous 947km test over Sunday and Monday with limited external assistance.

But instead of the schedule simply being divided into two days based on distance, drivers had to cover as much ground as they possibly could before 5pm on Sunday, before halting at the next available bivouac. They will have to complete the remainder of the stage from their respective starting positions on Monday.

When the action got under way in Bisha at around 6am local time, Al-Rajhi and Al-Attiyah, who had set identical times in Saturday’s opening special, immediately shot to the front of the pack from lower down the order.

Both had a lot of ground to cover, having dropped more than 10 minutes in Stage 1 and started the day in 22nd and 21st respectively.

For the most part it was Saudi driver Al-Rajhi who maintained the advantage in his Overdrive-entered Toyota Hilux, although Al-Attiyah was briefly able to snatch the lead at the 231km mark.

However, Al-Rajhi’s home knowledge proved crucial during the second half of the day and he regained the lead at the seventh checkpoint, located 373km into the stage.

Despite Al-Attiyah’s best attempts at retaking the initiative, Al-Rajhi was able to maintain a lead of 1m19s as they reached Bivouac E just before the cut-off point. They will spend the remainder of the day camping at the same point in the desert, before setting off once again on Monday morning.

While Al-Rajhi and Al-Attiyah received competition from a number of drivers during the early part of the stage, they had sprinted clear of others long before the finish time of 5pm.

The closest driver to the duo at that point was Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom, who finished eight minutes down in third, in the best of the Raptor T1+s.

In fourth place came factory Toyota driver Henk Lategan, leading a slew of other Hilux drivers including Overdrive’s Juan Cruz Yacopini, team-mate Guy Botterill and bike racing convert Toby Price.

Price, a two-time Dakar champion with KTM, ended up just 16m20s down on Al-Rajhi on his maiden outing on four wheels with Overdrive Toyota.

New Ford recruit Nani Roma, who lost time on Saturday with a mechanical issue, ended up eighth ahead of Toyota’s Giniel de Villiers, who made it six Hilux entries inside the top 10.

Century Racing’s Mathieu Serradori and Brian Baragwanath were classified 10th and 12th respectively, separated by the lead X-raid Mini entry of Guillaume de Mevius.

One of Dakar’s leading contenders, Sebastien Loeb had a difficult day in Saudi Arabia, with his Dacia Sandrider stopping for around nine minutes with engine trouble.

#219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The Frenchman was provisionally classified in 15th place after reaching Bivouac E, but has already lost over 30 minutes to the frontrunners.

Loeb’s former World Rally Championship rival Carlos Sainz Sr suffered an even bigger blow to his victory hopes, with his Ford Raptor rolling over and landing upside down over sand at the 327km mark.

After receiving some assistance from his team-mate Mitch Guthrie Jr, Sainz was able to turn his car upright and resume the rally, but he finished the day outside the top 20 and almost an hour down on pacesetter Al-Rajhi.

Following two full days of running in 2025 Dakar, Al-Rajhi and Al-Attiyah hold the top spots in the general ranking, with Lategan’s time from Stage 1 keeping him in third position ahead of top Ford runner Ekstrom. Botterill sits in fifth place ahead of Price and Roma.

Dakar 2025 – Standings after Stage 2A / Bivouac E (Top 10)