DAY 8: Ha’il Rest Day – January 10, 2025
The 2025 Dakar Rally has served up an opening week like nothing off-road fans have ever witnessed before with a 48-hour Chrono Stage and a two-day unassisted Marathon Stage. The competitors who remain are now rewarded with a well-earned Ha’il Rest Day. Here are the most intriguing facts and figures to emerge from the first week in Saudi Arabia:
– 22: American racer Seth Quintero is no stranger to making history at the Dakar Rally after the former Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver won an amazing 12 of the 13 stages in the Challenger class at the 2022 Dakar. The Californian native has rewritten the history books again by becoming the youngest ever driver to win a pair of Ultimate stages, thanks to Saturday and then Thursday wins – aged just 22. He admitted: “Rest Day is not my favourite day. I’d rather just keep it going and see what happens.”
– 3: The tricky terrain often sees high-profile competitors exit early with defending car champion Carlos Sainz and three-time runner-up Sébastien Loeb retiring along with Spaniard Laia Sanz – her first ever retirement in 15 Dakar attempts. They have all been as a result of the FIA determining their roll cages sustained too much damage after their cars flipped.
– 4: Australian biker Daniel Sanders has been in determined mood during the opening week. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider followed up his victory on the Prologue with Stage 1, 2 and 4 wins to arrive at the Rest Day with a lead of over 15 minutes. The 30-year-old revealed: “The aim for Rest Day is to just chill out a bit. Get some good sleep and good food. A bit of a massage would be good, maybe a swim. Anything that can help to loosen me up a bit.”
– 5: One of the most popular racers inside and outside of the bivouac is Dania Akeel. The Saudi Arabian driver has fans all over her homeland and they have cheered her on to fifth place in the Challenger class at Rest Day, which means she looks set to beat her best ever finish of eighth overall.
– 12h04m06s: Challenger race rookie Gonçalo Guerreiro admitted that he had never driven anything like the 48-hour Chrono Stage before. The Portuguese driver spent over 12 hours racing against the clock to post the fourth fastest time in class and the new recruit to the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team is second overall, just 28m34s behind leader Nicolas Cavigliasso.
– 4,245: After covering 3,560km in the first week, the remaining distance in the second week is even greater as there is a further 4,245 kilometres to cover with all roads leading to the Empty Quarter desert. After stops in Al Duwadimi, Riyadh and Haradh, it will be among Saudi Arabia’s most formidable sand dunes that this latest 47th edition of the Dakar Rally will ultimately be won and lost by the January 17 finish in Shubaytah.
2025 Dakar Rally selected overall standings at the Rest Day
Ultimate
1. Henk Lategan (ZAF) 28:10.11
3. Mattias Ekström (SWE) +20.54
4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) +35.00
5. Lucas Moraes (BRA) +41.55
6. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) +42.44
9. Seth Quintero (USA) +1:30.10
15. Rokas Baciuška (LTU) +3:28.19
16. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) +3:32.17
18. Guillaume De Mévius (BEL) +3:50.19
26. Toby Price (AUS) +6:06.51
50. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) +37:34.39
55. Nani Roma (ESP) +65:19.34
Challenger
1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG) 30:38.42
2. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR) +28.34
5. Dania Akeel (SAU) +1:37.59
6. Pau Navarro (ESP) +2:02.16
8. Corbin Leaverton (USA) +4:14.56
SSV
1. Brock Heger (USA) 31:51.54
4. Francisco López (CHL) +1:58.59
Bike
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS) 30:20.15
7. Luciano Benavides (ARG) +32.15
10. Edgar Canet (ESP) +1:09.44
26. Kevin Benavides (ARG) +3:22.56