Summarize

The Dakar lead changed once again on Thursdays’ penultimate stage 11 as Saudi home hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk’s Hilux moved ahead of South African champions Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Toyota Gazoo Hilux to set up a thrilling race to the finish through the dunes on Friday.  It’s just as tense in the Bikes, where Tosha Schareina’s Honda won to take chunks out of leader Aussie Daniel Sanders KTM to set up another fight to the finish there.

Third on Thursday behind Ford men Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist and Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger’s Dacia, Al Rajhi took nine minutes out of Lategan to move into a six minute eleven second lead with just Friday’s romp across the Empty Quarter dunes between them and victory. Either way, it seems likely that Dakar 2025 will be a South African built Toyota Hilux 1-2.

In other South African news, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s SA built Century CR7 was in eighth for the day to cement their fifth overall, with Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet’s Gazoo Hilux and Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century provisionally 14th and 15th. Baragwanath looks good for tenth overall and Variawa 17th after both lost considerable time through the course of the race.

Daniel Schröder and South African Henry Köhne’s budget SA-built WCT Amarok had another good day in 18th, while young lady racer Aliyyah Koloc and Sebastien Delaunay were 24th and best of the Red-Lined REVO+ finishers after her splendid eighth on Wednesday.

It’s almost as tense in the Bikes, where second overall, Spaniard Tosha Schareina’s Honda won the day to take six minutes out of overall leader Aussie Daniel Sanders’ advantage on his Red Bull KTM. Schareina took six minutes out of Sanders’ lead as he led teammate Luciano Benavides’ KTM and Honda teammates Adrien van Beveren and Ricky Brabec home on Thursday.

Sanders leads Schareina into the final day by nine minutes with van Beveren, Benavides and Brabec in pursuit. South African survivors Michael Docherty sets off 15th Friday morning, while Dwain Barnard lay 60th and Willem Avenant 86th. Friday’s stage may just be 61 kilometres, but take nothing for granted, it’s across the dunes with just enough time for anything to happen and leads to change. Watch this space!