DAY 5: Stage 3 – January 7, 2025
Route: Bisha > Al Henakiyah – Liaison 466km and Special 327km
– Tuesday’s Stage 3 between Bisha and Al Henakiyah produced another dramatic day of action as Swede Mattias Ekström moved up into the top three overall to lead the charge for Ford M-Sport following the retirement of reigning champion Carlos Sainz. He now lies nine minutes and 34 seconds behind Ultimate leader Henk Lategan with Nasser Al-Attiyah in second place. Forty-six-year-old Ekström, who can still count on team-mates Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Nani Roma for support, said: “For our part, we did our best to drive smart today. We’re happy with where we are.”
– Sadly for Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, his quest for a first Dakar Rally title took a hit when he lost over an hour after his Dacia Sandrider turned sideways and rolled at high-speed. Despite the car sustaining serious damage, he was able to continue after team-mate Cristina Gutiérrez handed over spare parts. The 50-year-old explained: “I hit a rut that turned us sideways and the car rolled. There wasn’t so much damage, but after 50 kilometres we broke a steering rod. Cristina stopped to give us one, but after that the front engine fan stopped working.”
– Seth Quintero and Belgian Guillaume De Mévius both finished in the top four with the American not far off a second 2025 stage win. The 22-year-old said: “We got stuck in the dust for quite a long time in the beginning. Once we got past a few guys, we were able to set sail. Unfortunately, we got a slow puncture just before the finish and that cost us the stage win.”
– Australian Daniel Sanders saw his overall bike lead eaten into by his rivals with Argentine Luciano Benavides making up five minutes on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, who had to overcome the fact his electronic roadbook stopped working. Sanders, 30, revealed: “My tablet stopped working, so I couldn’t navigate. I was lost out there and I picked the wrong person to follow. It’s unfortunate.” Spaniard Edgar Canet leads the Rally2 category after three stages for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
– The Challenger standings saw teammates Gonçalo Guerreiro and Corbin Leaverton both lose precious ground to leader Nicolas Cavigliasso, however home racer Dania Akeel produced a superb performance to finish just 26 seconds off the Argentine on the day. Akeel, a Jeddah native and former bike racer, said: “It was a rocky, twisty stage with nice navigation to figure out. It was hard to gain time because it was so fast.”
– Elsewhere, Dakar legend Francisco “Chaleco” López dusted himself off quickly from his Stage 2 disappointment to earn his first SSV stage win this year with Wednesday’s Stage 4 seeing the convoy take on the first half of the 47th edition’s gruelling Marathon Stage. The competitors will be plunged into the spectacular canyons of AlUla and will have to bring along their own tool kits with no mechanics on hand overnight.
2025 Dakar Rally selected overall standings after Stage 3
Ultimate
1. Henk Lategan (ZAF) 19:04.53
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +07.17
3. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +09.34
5. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +19.40
6. Toby Price (AUS) +20.17
8. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +23.40
10. Seth Quintero (USA) +35.04
16. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) +01:14.45
20. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) +2:18.26
21. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) +2:18.39
23. Guillaume De Mévius (BEL) +2:31.16
53. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +36:59.48
55. Nani Roma (ESP) +61:03.44
Challenger
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG) 20:24.43
2. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR) +19.29
3. Corbin Leaverton (USA) +22.09
4. Dania Akeel (SAU) +28.35
6. Pau Navarro (ESP) +54.37
SSV
1. Xavier De Soultrait (FRA) 20:48.16
4. Francisco López (CHL) +2:45.25
Bike
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS) 20:05.00
6. Luciano Benavides (ARG) +17.31
11. Edgar Canet (ESP) +49.53
27. Kevin Benavides (ARG) +2:08.46