Ekstrom tops penultimate day as Al-Rajhi closes in on victory

Ford driver Mattias Ekstrom was fastest in the penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally on Thursday, while Overdrive’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi took a decisive lead over factory Toyota rival Henk Lategan.

In what was the last major test of the 2025 Dakar, competitors had to traverse 275km of dunes through the famous Empty Quarters in Saudi Arabia before halting for the night at Shubayth.

Lategan entered the weather-delayed stage with an advantage of 2m27s in the overall standings, but a tough run for the South African swung the battle in favour of Al-Rajhi, who now looks set to take a maiden victory in the rally-raid.

Saudi driver Al-Rajhi, Ekstrom and Dacia star Nasser Al-Attiyah were in a league of their own during Stage 11, pulling almost 10 minutes clear of their nearest rivals by the finish line.

Five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah held the initial advantage in the new-for-2025 Dacia Sandrider, before Ekstrom pulled ahead at the 94km marker in his Ford Raptor.

Al-Rajhi took second in his customer Toyota Hilux and closed the gap to under a minute at around the halfway point, while Al-Attiyah dropped four minutes behind due to unknown reasons.

Al-Attiyah put in a mighty effort in the final part of the day to close the gap back up again, but Ekstrom held on to his position by 41s to take his fifth career stage win in Dakar.

#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Edouard Boulanger

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The result secured back-to-back stage wins for newcomer Ford, with the Swede’s team-mate Nani Roma having triumphed in Stage 10 on Wednesday.

Al-Rajhi had held second place for much of the day, but fell behind a charging Al-Attiyah at the penultimate checkpoint.

However, third was still a solid result for the local favourite, with overnight leader Lategan ending up 10m23s off the lead in fifth, behind the other Ford of Mitch Guthrie Jr.

That means the 43-year-old is back at the front in the general classification, 6m11s clear of Lategan with just 61km to run in the final stage on Friday. 

Ekstrom now looks set to finish on the overall podium for the first time in four attempts, having moved 4m16s clear of the chasing Al-Attiyah after Thursday.

Guthrie Jr has cemented fifth in the standings, with Century’s Mathieu Serradori likewise safe in sixth after finishing inside the top 10 on Thursday.

X-raid driver Joao Ferreira remains Mini’s highest-placed rider in the overall standings in eighth, behind Overdrive’s Juan Cruz Yacopini. 

Dakar 2025 – Classification after Stage 11 (Top 10)