2025 Dakar Stage 11 was the last chance for any competitors to make real inroads on their rivals’ leads. The penultimate stage of this year’s race was a 275 km timed section in a loop around Shubaytah. The start of the race was delayed somewhat due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog. As a result the support helicopters, which supply immediate response to any incidents, could not fly. Racing eventually got underway about 90 minutes later than scheduled.

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All to Play For

When the race got going it was Nani Roma (Ford Raptor) who led out the cars. The Spaniard won stage 10 (as you can read here) so was the first man on the road. But he soon stopped on the trail to wait for his teammates Mattias Ekstrom and Mitch Guthrie. Roma would be in close proximity should either crew require help. This meant that others passed and they had to find the correct route. Dacia Sandrider pilot Cristina Gutierrez did the same to play a support role for her team leader, Nasser Al-Attyiah. The Qatari had a dismal stage 10. He could have made up massive time to the leaders, instead he lost time due to navigational errors. This left South African, Brian Baragwanath, as the man opening the road on 2025 Dakar stage 11.

All-out Attack

With one day of racing left, and just a 61-km stage at that, there was all to play for and the rally leaders were not holding back. Long time race leader Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) led through the checkpoints but, as he was further up the road, it was unclear if he had the pace over Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing). The Saudi driver was not holding back and chipped away at the rally leader’s advantage. At the halfway point of the stage it was Lategan who held the upper hand. But that did not last long as Al Rajhi applied the pressure. He took enough time out of Lategan to take the virtual lead of the race around the 140-km mark.

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At The Flag

While all eyes were on the overall race times, Mattias Ekstrom was keen to grab the stage win. Additionally, he wanted to cement his place on the overall podium as he put some distance between himself and Al-Attiyah. The Swede was quickest through several checkpoints, showing the ability of the Fords in sandy conditions. His pace was, ultimately, too quick for anyone else to match and Ekstrom gave Ford its second Dakar stage win, after Roma’s victory yesterday.

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

A late charge by Al-Attiyah was not enough to challenge Ekstrom and the Qatari finished in second place, just 41 seconds behind the stage winner.

“It was a difficult stage. At the beginning we had two flat tyres from a big impact and we stopped for five minutes to change both wheels. After, we tried to push again… We finished today without any other problems, the car was working very well and we are quite happy. It’s really nice to have the new car and be fighting for the podium. We are happy, we had a good performance but a new car always needs time,” said the former racer winner.

Al Rajhi was third with an impressive run through the penultimate stage. He finished the day in third place. Ekstrom’s teammate Mitch Guthrie was fourth. Lategan was the quickest SA driver today, finishing the stage in fifth position.

A New Leader, Again

Yazeed Al Rajhi, who trailed Henk Lategan by 2 min 27 sec before the stage started, has regained the lead in the general rankings. He gave it his all today and overturned the South African’s lead. As a result, Al Rajhi approaches the final stage of the 47th edition of the Dakar with a lead of 6 min 11 sec over Lategan. The new race leader said:  “I know I can do it. I trusted myself, I attacked and enjoyed”.

The South African was pragmatic about today’s result: “We were a little bit too far ahead on the road, we finished right behind the opener. To be honest, there’s not much more we could have done today. I tried my best and at the end we were looking for tracks and opening some of the way with Lucas. I tried… that was about what we could manage today. I’ve never been a sand or dune expert but I’m happy to come through the stage. The car is still in one piece. We made it, now there’s just one more short day and then we will be at the finish. It’s amazing. We’ve had a really good Dakar with some ups and downs. Some things went our way, others didn’t. Overall, I’m happy with how it went and how it’s going. We still have one more day to go until we get to the finish. It’s been a really good race”.

Tomorrow’s stage is a short one, but anything can happen in this grueling race, so no team will be taking anything for granted until they cross the final finish line of this year’s event.

Standings after 2025 Dakar Stage 11

    1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) 51 hr 53 min 36 sec
    2. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +06 min 11 sec
    3. Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +22 min 34 sec
    4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) +26 min 50 sec
    5. Mitch Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +59 min 26 sec
    6. Mathieu Serradori (Century Racing) +01 hr 10 min 08 sec
    7. Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) +1 hr 58 min 13 sec
    8. Joao Ferreira (X-Rain Mini) +02 hr 15 min 59 sec
    9. Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +02 hr 19 min 47 sec
    10. Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) +02 hr 53 min 26 min

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