Toyota driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi leads the provisional standings ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah in Dacia. Teammates Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz remained far behind.
Eight-time world rallying champion Loeb was slowed by electronic problems in his Dacia Sandrider, while four-time Dakar winner Sainz had to deal with severe backlash.
Electronic gremlins cost Loeb more than 30 crucial minutes on the two-day marathon stage. This means that Dacia only seems to have one car left in the fight for overall victory.
Loeb and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin finished in a strong second place. Their strategy the previous day of deliberately driving slowly to gain a good starting position for the all-important and perhaps decisive stage of the 48-hour chrono seemed to be paying off. However, the nine-time world sprint champion had to make two long stops, the first time at 409 kilometers and the second time shortly after the restart. With the deficit thus obtained, it is certainly impossible for the Alsatian to achieve a general victory again.
Dacia team boss Tiphanie Isnard acknowledged an electronic problem, although a full explanation of the defect may take time.
“It’s difficult to do an investigation without telemetry or engineers on site. Fortunately, Sébastien managed to continue driving again. “He’s still in the race, that’s the main thing,” concluded Isnard. He praised fellow Sandrider Cristina Gutiérrez and his navigator Pablo Moreno-Huete , who provided valuable support as he progressed.
Gutiérrez also had problems at the start of the stage. He wasted more than half an hour with a different problem. The problems, which have not yet been identified, required maintenance in the 166 km isolated service area.
The presence of official support trucks is prohibited in the six bivouacs during the night break. Mechanical problems or damage must be tested by the driver’s crew alone without the crew.
Carlos Sainz’s hopes of a fifth victory in the Dakar Rally also suffered a severe setback on the second stage: the Spaniard overturned his Ford Raptor, which was used by M-Sport. Sainz was fighting for the lead in the general standings when the crash happened at the end of the hill section in the 327th kilometer of the stage. .
Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz were uninjured after the blue racing car hit its roof. In a scrap car with most of the carbon fiber parts removed, they were able to continue their journey after 40 minutes at a leisurely pace through the spectacular sand scenery. M-Sport teammate Mitch Guthrie stopped to help Sainz.
With 452 kilometers to go, just before the first of six pit stops, Sainz was 32.12 minutes behind leader Yazeed Al Rajhi in the overall results.
At the halfway stage of the marathon, local hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and fellow Neuruppin driver Timo Gottschalks lead the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. The lead over Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Edouard Boulanger in the Dacia Sandrider is a good minute.
South African Prologue winner Henk Lategan is third after his 10-minute speeding penalty from the first stage was overturned before today’s start.
Ford driver Mattias Ekström set the third fastest time today and is 1.32 minutes behind Lategan. South Africa’s next Toyota Hilux from Guy David Botterill is currently ranked fifth.
Former riders Toby Price and Sam Sunderland did well in their Overdrive Racing Toyota to finish seventh today and are now sixth in the standings.
The opening winners of the first stage, Seth Quintero/Dennis Zenz (Toyota), lost 47 minutes. Guerlain Chicherit/Alex Winocq (X-raid-Mini), who was temporarily leading yesterday, were 40 minutes behind.
The leading teams reached rest camp E after 618 km. There are still another 342 km until we return to the bivouac in Bisha tomorrow.
Dakar 2025 – Overall position after the first part of the 48 Hour Chrono Stage (2A), Bivouac E (618 km)
1. Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk (Toyota Hillux) 11:45.24 Stunden
2. Al-Attiyah/Boulanger (Dacia Sandrider) +1.19 Minutes
3. Lategan/Cummings (Toyota Hillux) +2.12
4. Mattias Ekström (Ford Raptor) +3.44
5. Variawa/Botterill (Toyota Hillux) +8.07
6. Price/Sunderland (Toyota Hillux) +9.05
