The Qatari gives Dacia the first stage victory, while Lategan suffers two punctures and gives up the top to Al Rajhi
After an almost perfect prologue and eight stages, Henk Lategan must give way. The South African pilot of Toyota Gazoo Racing loses the lead in the 2025 Dakar at the end of a stage to be forgotten as soon as possible, between punctures and navigation errors. That’s how smiling is Yazeed Al Rajhithe owner of the house, who takes the lead in his Hilux Overdrive with 7’09” of advantage. The ninth stage, of 357 km from Riyadh to Haradh, was won by Nasser Al-Attiyah: the Qatari gave Dacia its first victory in the Dakar, preceding the Belgian De Mevius on Mini and Al Rajhi. The podium is fully within reach, with just 31″ separating the five-time winner from the third position occupied by Mattias Ekström on Ford.
A heavy blow
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Two days ago Henk Lategan saw his lead over Al Rajhi disappear and Ekström and Al-Attiyah also seemed dangerously close. The 30-year-old South African responded like a champion, winning the following special stage and putting a good margin between himself and his opponents. However, fate was against him in the ninth quarter, where he finished 11th 16’02” from the winner: “It was a disaster. After only 13 km we got lost. We thought we had missed the checkpoint, but we had passed it correctly. Then we had it two punctures. A chaotic and difficult day, but we are still fighting”, he explained. Instead, the first victory for Dacia Sandrider at the Dakar: long sought after by Al-Attiyah, who had already been denied at the fifth stage due to having lost the spare wheel, she arrived at the ninth stage. For the podium the game is very open, while for the victory the Qatari would have to recover 25’21” in three stages over Al Rajhi: a very complex objective. Of note is the exit of a protagonist, not so much from the general one but from the victories of stage: the South African Guy David Botterillofficial Toyota driver and second in the eighth stage, retired after an accident at km 272.