Dakar Rally 2025: Daily Race Highlights and Rolling Coverage

11 januari 2025  

DAY 9: Stage 6 – January 11, 2025

Route: Ha’il > Al Duwadimi – Liaison 224km and Special 605km

– Belgian Guillaume De Mévius earned his first stage win of the 2025 race on Saturday to move 15th in the Ultimate standings as Mattias Ekström, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Seth Quintero all cemented their places in the top 10. Getting back into the rhythm of racing after Friday’s Rest Day proved a struggle for some on the special stage to Al Duwadimi, but De Mévius excelled. The 30-year-old said: “That’s a good day for us. We had a bad first week, so we push during this second week. Our target is to pick up World Championship points and also secure a top-10 spot.”

– The biggest push at the top of the Ultimate class came from five-time Dakar champion Al-Attiyah in his Dacia Sandrider, after taking more than four-and-a-half minutes out of race leader Henk Lategan. The 54-year-old Qatari said: “On the dunes it was not easy, but we did a good job. I’m sure we can be even faster to try and get back the time we’ve lost.”

– Australian Daniel Sanders retained his overall bike lead with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider looking to use a favourable starting position on Stage 7 to press home his advantage. KTM riders Luciano Benavides and Edgar Canet decided not to risk it all on the arduous route. Sanders, 30, admitted: “It’s tough to get back on the rhythm after the Rest Day.”

– Another stage win in the SSV class has lifted Francisco “Chaleco” López onto the overall podium with the Chilean left with six stages to grab another title in his illustrious Dakar career. The 49-year-old revealed: “We drove the final kilometres at night-time and this was difficult. This race has been a real adventure and we still have the Empty Quarter to come.”

– The Challenger class also finished after the sun set with American Corbin Leaverton of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team claiming second to lie seventh overall. The 23-year-old said: “I probably enjoyed that stage more than any I’ve raced since I’ve been here. Shout-out to my co-driver Taye (Perry), it was a faultless day from her in the navigator’s seat.”

– Sunday’s Stage 7 sees the two-wheel and four-wheel competitors take divergent paths with the first Ultimate class crews on the Al Duwadimi special stage having no bike lines to follow in the sand.

2025 Dakar Rally selected overall standings after Stage 6

Ultimate
1. Henk Lategan (ZAF) 32:51.36
3. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +22.27
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +30.25
5. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +50.16
8. Seth Quintero (USA) +1:36.37
13. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) +3:27.44
14. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +3:34.56
15. Guillaume De Mévius (BEL) +3:43.43
16. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) +3:51.23
24. Toby Price (AUS) +6:29.38
44. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +37:46.22
47. Nani Roma (ESP) +65:23.04

Challenger
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG) 35:57.59
2. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR) +35.02
4. Pau Navarro (ESP) +1:57.08
7. Corbin Leaverton (USA) +4:05.26

SSV
1. Brock Heger (USA) 37:21.01
3. Francisco López (CHL) +1:47.27

Bike
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS) 35:18.49
6. Luciano Benavides (ARG) +30.08
10. Edgar Canet (ESP) +1:16.59