On the third stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, the X-raid MINI team showcased their potential. Particularly impressive was the newest family member, the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, which grabbed attention today. Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq claimed second place, followed by their teammates Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel in fourth. João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro delivered a strong performance to finish fifth in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0d.
The stage after the 48-hour Chrono couldn’t have gone much better for Chicherit. He steadily climbed the leaderboard in the MINI JCW Rally 3.0i, starting in sixth place for most of the day. However, on the final kilometers, he managed to recover significant time and leap to second place. This performance also boosted him to 12th place in the overall standings.
After a streak of bad luck yesterday, De Mévius was able to prove his skill today. He lost a bit of time at the start due to a flat tire that needed changing but steadily worked his way up to finish fourth. He currently sits in 33rd place overall.
Ferreira also made a big leap in the overall standings. With today’s fifth-place finish, he broke into the Top 10, now holding ninth place overall. The young Portuguese driver kept pace with the leaders throughout the stage, whether on gravel roads or in the sand.
Annett Quandt and Annie Seel finished 25th in the Challenger classification driving the X-raid Fenic, putting them in 16th place overall. Their teammate Maria Gameiro is still on the course.
What’s next?:
Tomorrow brings the next challenge for the crews: the marathon stage. The drivers will have to manage without their team’s support once again. However, this time, all participants will stay in the same bivouac, allowing them to rely on help from teammates and the race truck. The cars will face over 400 kilometers of timed racing on the way to Alula.
Quotes from the team
Guerlain Chicherit (#202 MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “It was awesome. To be honest, we had a plan this morning. We wanted to try to win the stage. When we hit the first really rocky sections, we caught up to the car in front of us, and the dust was very thick. I couldn’t take too many risks, so I waited. I knew it would stay like this for 90 km. Unfortunately, I had a pucture. After the rocky part, I pushed again, and we drove as fast as we could.”
João Ferreira (#240 MINI JCW Rally 3.0d): “It was a good day for us. At the start, we had to drive in the dust of other competitors, and it would have been easy to get a flat tire. But we made it through without any issues. We’re happy with our performance.”
Guillaume de Mévius (#222 MINI JCW Rally 3.0i): “The stage went great. We only had a flat tire at the start, which put us in the dust of other vehicles. Still, we enjoyed the whole stage. Mathieu did an amazing job at a critical navigation point. We’re happy.”
Result stage 3
- S. Variawa / F. Cazalet – Toyota – 3h 16m 52s
2. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 3h 17m 25s
3. S. Quintero / D. Zenz – Toyota – 3h 18m 40s
4. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 3h 18m 47s
5. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 3h 20m 07s
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20. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 3h 33m 38s
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33. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 3h 39m 56s
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101. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid Fenic – 4h 40m 27 
Overall standings
1. H. Lategan / B. Cummings – Toyota – 19h 04m 53s
2. N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger – Dacia – 19h 12m 10s
3. M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist – Ford – 19h 14m 27s
4. Y. Al-Rajhi / T. Gottschalk – Toyota – 19h 16m 38s
5. L. Moraes / A. Monleon – Toyota – 19h 24m 33s
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9. J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 19h 37m 00s
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12. G. Chicherit / A. Winocq – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 19h 52m 57s
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33. G. de Mévius / M. Baumel – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 21h 34m 59s
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39. L. Baud / L. Baud – MINI JCW Rally 3.0d – 21h 56m 11s
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79. A. Quandt / A. Seel – X-raid Fenic – 26h 11m 24s
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tba. D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov – MINI JCW Rally 3.0i – 66h 04m 15s