Long time race leader Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) lost the lead during stage nine of the 2025 Dakar Rally (as you can read here). Yazeed Al Rajhi usurped the South African at the top of the standings. However, it was former winner Nasser Al-Attiyah who won stage nine, in the process he clawed back time against the race leaders. As a result of his win, the Qatari driver had to lead the way during 2025 Dakar stage 10. The tenth stage took place within the Empty Quarter, an area that is devoid of life and characterised of massive rolling dunes. Competitors had to travel over 500 km to the start of the stage before competing in a 115 km timed section that would end in Shubaytah.

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Opening the Road

Leading the way, or opening the road as crews call it, is usually detrimental to ones stage time, as we have seen before during the 2025 Dakar. The first car out of the starting gate has to find the route, while others behind can simply follow tracks made by those ahead to confirm their navigation. Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) chose the wrong path early in the stage. As a result he lost time and was quickly caught on the road by Al Rajhi. He continued to lose time to the men ahead of him in the overall standings, as much as seven minutes by the halfway point of the stage.

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With nothing to lose, Cristina Gutierrez (Dacia Sandrider) and Mitch Guthrie (Ford Raptor) gave it their all today. Both crews were taking advantage of the tracks laid down by those ahead. Another driver on the move was Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing), who has already shown his pace earlier in the race by claiming two stage victories. Old hand Nani Roma (Ford Raptor) threw his hat into the ring for stage honours by climbing to the top of the timesheet.

More Time Lost

Lategan, while not the quickest through the checkpoints, had made up time on Al Rajhi. The South African later clawed back more time as the Saudi driver had a five-minute stop. By the 97 km mark. Lategan had gained nearly 8 min 30 sec on Al Rajhi, taking him back into the virtual lead of the race. Crews had some time to wait as the cars setting fast times were still in the stage while those who started earlier waited at the finish line.

When all contenders arrived, it was Nani Roma who set the quickest time at the end of the stage. The Spaniard giving the Ford team its first stage win in the Dakar Rally and his first since 2015. He said afterwards: “It’s been a tough rally for us from the beginning. We tried to have a clean day. This morning we were so fast. We understood that we needed to set another speed. We are happy for the team. The car is good, a really strong car, and we are happy with how the team works.”

Lucas Moraes showed that the Hilux is always in contention taking second place. The quickest SA driver today was Brian Baragwanath in third position, driving the Century Racing CR7. The Audi-powered machine is just another one of the racecars that is built right here in South Africa.

Click here to check out some highlights from Giniel de Villiers illustrious Dakar Rally career.

A New Leader, Again

Lategan was over nine minutes quicker than Al Rajhi today. As a result the South African has reclaimed the overall lead of the rally. Just under two and half minutes separate the Toyota drivers in the general rankings. Lategan said after the stage: “It wasn’t the plan to go quickly today. We were actually going at a very nice and steady pace. Hopefully, the are some other guys behind us that were a little bit quicker so that they can open tomorrow.”

Al-Rajhi was pragmatic at the day’s finish line: “We got stuck because we were taking it easy. Everything is going good, that’s the most important [thing]. I have a good position, I hope. No pressure, I hope everything will go well.”

Al-Attiyah’s hopes of a sixth title has all but evaporated today. A navigation error near the start of the special cost the Qatari a golden opportunity to get himself back in contention. He said: “I’m very disappointed, but what can you do? We could have had a great stage, but we’ll see what position we’re in and what we can do tomorrow. Every day is very important, and we had a good pace, but we lost a lot of time. This is the most disappointing day of my life.”

Standings after 2025 Dakar Stage 10

    1. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) 47 hr 29 min 57 sec
    2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) +02 min 27 sec
    3. Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +26 min 46 sec
    4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) +30 min 21 sec
    5. Mitch Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +54 min 05 sec
    6. Mathieu Serradori (Century Racing) +59 min 41 sec
    7. Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) +1 hr 33 min 30 sec
    8. Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +01 hr 36 min 35 sec
    9. Joao Ferreira (X-Rain Mini) +02 hr 08 min 35 sec
    10. Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) +02 hr 17 min 06 min

Times were correct at the time of publication, full stage results can be found here.