The fifth stage of the 2025 Dakar brought competitors to the traditional rest day after a week of racing. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) led the race going into the second week. 2025 Dakar stage 6 was the first of several longer stages that characterise this week. The special stage, from Ha’il to Duwadimi was over 600 km long.

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Local lad Yazeed Al Rajhi commented ahead of week two: “It was the hardest first week of my career on the Dakar. All the stages were long, tough and difficult everywhere. Last year, I was leading the race until the day before the rest day when the car rolled over due to a suspension problem. Today, we were close to the lead, with just a 10-minute gap, which is nothing. In the dunes, we are capable of doing very well.”

Five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah is also looking forward to the sandy sections: “I will try to do my best. The Dakar is tough but the Dacia is robust and is doing a good job. There are surprises on each day, but I’m fairly happy. Next week, there will be many dunes, so we will see what will happen but for the moment I would just like to enjoy a good shower”.

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Week One Stats

As the second week starts we thought we’d share some stats from the first week of racing. The cars covered 2 579 km of special stages. 58 cars remain in the ‘Ultimate’ category of the race. 81 vehicles have been able to use a joker to remain in the race, while 36 have been forced into a premature exit. Two stages were won by 22-year-old Seth Quintero, the only multiple winner of week one. The American was the youngest stage winner, a record he held for two days. 19-year-old South African, Saood Variawa, reset that record, which may stand for some time.

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Another Retiree

The very start of the stage saw another big name make a premature exit from the 2025 Dakar Rally. Mini X-Raid driver Guerlain Chicherit had a massive crash that left his race machine in several pieces. Thankfully, he and his co-pilot emerged from the wreckage on their own.

Early Pacesetters

It was Al-Attiyah and Al Rajhi who set the early pace during 2025 Dakar stage 6. Rally leader Lategan was quick, but it was his teammate Guy Botterill who was setting the timesheets alight. The South African driver was in the hunt all day. The lead swapped between him and the two locals throughout the first part of the stage.

Later, it was the Minis of Guillaume de Mevius and João Ferreira joining the battle for stage honours. Al Rajhi took advantage of a neutralisation zone to grab a spare tyre from Saood Variawa. The young South African playing the team game to ensure his senior stablemate progressed.

The second part of the stage was held in the dunes, which played perfectly into the hands of Al-Attiyah and Al Rajhi. Both men used their skills in the sand to eat into Lategan’s overall race lead. But De Mevius and Botterill kept them honest by setting fast times as well.

Click here to read about Giniel de Villiers most memorable motoring moment.

At the Flag

Although quickest through most of the checkpoints, Botterill’s challenge faded at the very end of the stage. This handed the stage win to De Mevius. Botterill lost enough time to fall down to fourth place on the day. João Ferreira was second behind his teammate and Nasser Al-Attiyah bagged a podium spot. Lategan finished seventh today.

The Belgian stage winner ended Toyota’s stranglehold at this year’s event. He said after the stage: “For now, we’re sitting at the top of the leaderboard. We had a good stage, finally! Our goal was to claw back some time and pick up points for the championship, so we gave it everything we had. My car still bears a few scars from last week and today we did a bit of flying, but thankfully we didn’t hit anything. The rest day is also a chance to hit reset and we’re heading into a better rhythm after some tough moments in the first week. It’s not exactly my kind of terrain. On the sand, I can hold my own, but I know I’ve still got room to improve.”

There has been no change at the top of the general standings, although Lategan has lost time to his pursuer. Al Rajhi can virtually sniff the South African as the gap is now back down to single figures. Neither man can afford a mistake or mechanical issue at this point. Should either falter, Swede Mattias Ekstrom and Al-Attiyah are right there. Giniel de Villiers sits in 14th overall. General standings below the video.

Standings after 2025 Dakar Stage 6

    1. Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing) 32 hr 51 min 36 sec
    2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) +07 min 16 sec
    3. Mattias Ekstrom (Ford M-Sport) +22 min 17 sec
    4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) +30 min 25 sec
    5. Mitch Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) +50 min 16 sec
    6. Mathieu Serradori (Century Racing) +56 min 28 sec
    7. Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) +1 hr 14 min 18 sec
    8. Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing) +01 hr 36 min 37 sec
    9. Joao Ferreira (X-Rain Mini) +01 hr 47 min 13 sec
    10. Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing) 02 hr 05 min 30 min

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