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Al-Rajhi chases Lategan, Al-Attiya loses time in unforgiving Dakar 2025

8 January at 21:00

Norberto Mujica
Editor

With the way the Saudi Arabian dessert has been fiercely biting back at the 2025 Dakar Rally drivers and riders, with the notable premature exclusions of Carlos Sainz Sr. and Sebastian Loeb from the competition, it is not surprising that yet another front runner, Nasser Al-Attiyah, has encountered trouble in the unforgiving dunes. However, Yazid Al-Rajhi, continues his charge across the Middle-Eastern dessert, in pursuit of overall leader Henk Lategan, with Mattias Ekstrom seemingly saving Ford's first full fledged entry.

After the drivers and riders had reached the bivouac at the end of Stage 4, there were several things worthy of note. Lategan's consistency aboard his Toyota Overdrive, Al-Rajhi's relentless pace and Al-Attiyah's woes. Following a troubled Stage 3 on Tuesday, Al Rajhi aboard his customer Toyota Hilux, at the 415 km mark, pressed on the gas and never looked back, claiming the Stage 4 win which propelled him to P2 in the competition's standings, 6m54s adrift from Lategan's lead.

The up until now contender for the win, Al-Attiyah, suffered two separate issues, that forced him to come to a stop. First a tyre puncture at the 97 km mark and 20 km later, a rear suspension issue which overall saw him drop to 7th in the general standings.

Ford's first full fledged entry has not gone according to plan with Carlos Sainz Sr.'s premature exit from the even following a technical inspection which deemed his car unfit to continue. However, despite his gray 8th place finish in Stage 4, Ekstrom and his Ford Raptor are currently sitting in P3 in the overall standings, with teammate, Mitch Guthrie, around 13 minutes behind him.

2025 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage 4