Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan regained the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday with a two minutes and 27 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi going into the penultimate stage.

Nani Roma scored Ford’s first stage victory of the 2025 Dakar Rally on Wednesday, while Toyota driver Henk Lategan recaptured the lead in the overall standings.Stage 10 marked the first visit to the unforgiving Empty Quarters desert in Saudi Arabia,

Henk Lategan’s lead of the Dakar Rally melted to 21 seconds after a chaotic seventh stage for timings in the Saudi desert on Sunday.

Toyota's Henk Lategan dominated stage eight of the Dakar Rally on Monday, and despite a speed violation, the win extended his overall lead after the previous day's chaotic race had virtually wiped out his advantage over closest rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi.

Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi has taken advantage of a miserable stage by Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert.

South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage on Monday.

Saudi Arabia's local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi is in the overall lead for the first time at this year's Dakar Rally after finishing third in stage nine on Tuesday, taking over from Henk Lategan who suffered two punctures.

After the only rest day, the caution of car front-runner Lategan and motorbike pace-setter Sanders allowed their closest pursuers to catch up by up to four minutes on the sixth stage from Ha’il south to Al Duwadimi. South African driver Lategan was seventh on the stage, 6 1/2 minutes behind Belgian winner Guillaume de Mévius.

Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah hit the gas on Tuesday to win stage 9 of the Dakar Rally as Saudi Yazeed al-Rajhi took the lead in the drivers' standings.