Stage 12: Shubaytah – Shubaytah stage 61km, liaison 70km
On home soil, or rather sand, Yazeed Al Rajhi has become the first Saudi driver to win the Dakar in the Ultimate class. Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk won their first Dakar Rally, much to the delight of the Saudi fans. With a lead of 6’11” going into the Dakar’s final short stage, no heroics were expected from the home hero and none were forthcoming.
Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings gave their all but ran out of mileage to claw back their deficit and had to settle for second overall, giving Toyota a dominant one-two result.
Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist brought their Ford Raptor home in third, giving the new entrant a debut podium.
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger ended fourth overall in their Dacia Sandrider with Mitch Gutherie and Kellon Walch making it two Fords in the top five.
Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier powered their Century Racing CR7 to sixth in the final standings – their best ever Dakar result – with Juan Yacopini in seventh, followed by a superb drive from Joao Ferreira/Filipe Palmeiro in their diesel-powered X-Raid Mini JCW who ended eighth.
Seth Quintero/Dennis Zenz made it four Toyotas in the top ten with Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer rounding out the overall top ten in their Century Racing CR7.
Five different manufacturers were represented in the final order with Toyota the dominant force having led the event from the prologue until the final kilometer.
The final stage was won by Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Brazilian driver Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon, who fended off the attentions of Al-Attiyah in his Dacia.
The final stage was won by Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Brazilian driver Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon, who fended off the attentions of Al-Attiyah in his Dacia.
Lategan was third in his Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux, one second ahead of Ekstrom who in turn was just under a minute ahead of the German/South African pairing of Daniel Schroder/Henry Kohne in their WCT Amarok.
Yacopini, in his Overdrive Hilux, ended sixth with Nani Roma having another solid run two seconds behind and five seconds ahead of Guillaume de Mevius/Mathieu Baumel’s Mini JCW.
Ferreira bagged ninth in his diesel Mini JCW, just two seconds up on Al Rajhi who took a gentle drive to tenth.
Daniel Sanders has become the second Australian biker to win the Dakar after Toby Price (in 2016 and 2019). Sanders has also given KTM its 20th triumph on the race. The Austrian firm was unbeaten between 2001 and 2019 and also achieved first place in 2023.
Overall Results:
| 1 | Y. Al Rajhi/T. Gottschalk | Overdrive Toyota Hilux | 52:52:15 |
| 2 | H. Lategan/B. Cummings | Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux | +3:57 |
| 3 | M. Ekstrom/E. Bergkvist | Ford Raptor | +20:21 |
| 4 | N. Al-Attiyah/E. Boulanger | Dacia Sandrider | +23:58 |
| 5 | M. Guthrie/K. Walch | Ford Raptor | +1:02:10 |
| 6 | M. Serradori/L. Minaudier | Century Racing CR7 | +1:12:04 |
| 7 | J. Yacopini/D. Oliveras | Overdrive Toyota Hilux | +1:57:47 |
| 8 | J. Ferreira/F. Palmeiro | X-Raid Mini JCW | +2:15:57 |
| 9 | S. Quintero/D. Zenz | Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux | +2:20:04 |
| 10 | B. Baragwanath/L. Cremer | Century Racing CR7 | +2:59:26 |
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