2025 Dakar Stage 12 was the final stage of the 47th edition of this famous race. The last stage was a short, 61 km timed section in a loop around Shubaytah. Thanks to an excellent performance in stage 11, Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) took the lead in the overall standings and was within touching distance of his first-ever Dakar Rally crown.

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Close Fought

The 2025 was an enticing prospect from the prologue. Toyota won in the hands of Henk Lategan. However, three other constructors also grabbed stage victories this year: Mini, Dacia and Ford. The latter two are new entries and have made impressive debuts. They will be a real force to be reckoned with going forward. The pace, too, seemed hot as leading names crashed and/or made critical errors.

The SA-built Toyota Hilux proved to be the car to beat, with six different drivers winning in the 3,5-litre turbocharged machines (learn more about the race Hilux at this link). Three of these pilots were 25 or younger, Seth Quintero, Rokas Baciuska and Saood Variawa. The latter wrote his name into the history books by becoming the youngest-ever stage winner in the car category.

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One Last Charge

Today’s stage started in a novel way. For the first time this year, the cars were sent off in batches of four, grouped with those closest to each other on the overall rankings. As a result the top four on the timesheets were all on the stage at the very same time, something which rarely happens in this form of racing. The mass start meant that a stage winner would not be known until most of the fast crews were through the final checkpoint. However, it seemed as though Dacia Sandrider pilot Nasser Al-Attiyah, was out to prove a point today. The former winner flew through the checkpoints, showing that he and his steed have real pace to challenge the frontrunners.

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

At The Flag

Fresh off his first stage win at the 2025 Dakar, Mattias Ekstrom (Ford Raptor) was keeping the Qatari driver honest. The two men were fighting for the final podium spot in the overall rankings. Long-time racer leader Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) had nothing to lose today as he tried to chase down Al Rajhi. The Saudi driver, with over six minutes in hand at the start of the day, didn’t have to take any unnecessary chances. Al-Attiyah was quick over the short stage but he was pipped by a late starting Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing). Lategan’s last push saw him finish third. Al Rajhi walked it home in eighth place, almost three minutes off the stage winner’s time.

A New Champ

Al Rajhi’s lead from stage 11 proved too much for Lategan to chase down. As a result the Saudi driver takes his maiden Dakar win and the first for a Saudi driver. He finished with an overall time that was 3 min 57 sec quicker than the South African. Imagine that, after fifty two and a half hours of racing across grueling terrain, they were separated by the time it takes a GT car to circulate around the Le Mans circuit just once.

Mattias Ekstrom takes an impressive podium in a brand new machine. It is Ford’s first podium at the event. In fourth place overall was Al-Attiyah. In fifth place was Ekstrom’s teammate Mitch Guthrie. The American had a quiet, but ultimately steady and impressive campaign in the 2025 Dakar Rally.

One Last Note…

That’s it for our 2025 Dakar race coverage. We hope you enjoyed these updates as we worked very hard to bring them to you as quickly as possible every day. If you are a petrolhead and/or motorsport fan, please follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.

Standings after 2025 Dakar Stage 12

    1. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) 52 hr 33 min 09 sec
    2. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +04 min 33 sec
    3. Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +20 min 52 sec
    4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) +24 min 30 sec
    5. Mitch Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +01 hr 02 min 10 sec
    6. Mathieu Serradori (Century Racing) +01 hr 12 min 04 sec
    7. Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) +1 hr 57 min 47 sec
    8. Joao Ferreira (X-Rain Mini) +02 hr 15 min 57 sec
    9. Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +02 hr 20 min 04 sec
    10. Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) +02 hr 59 min 26 min

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