Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah powered through to victory in Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally on Tuesday, securing a crucial win as Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi surged into the lead of the overall standings.
Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar champion, finished the 357-kilometer special stage between Riyadh and Haradh in 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. This performance kept him in the hunt for a sixth Dakar title, but he remains over 25 minutes behind Al-Rajhi, who now leads the rally after South African Henk Lategan’s disastrous day on the course.
Lategan, who had dominated the standings since Stage 2, suffered a setback and dropped to third overall, now trailing Al-Rajhi by 7 minutes and 9 seconds. Reflecting on the challenging stage, Lategan acknowledged the difficulties he faced: “It was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it’s not the end of the world, we’re still in it.”
Meanwhile, Al-Rajhi managed to finish third on the day, 3 minutes and 12 seconds behind Al-Attiyah, and now leads the standings with three days to go. The Saudi driver expressed confidence in his position: “We did a great job like we planned to. It won’t be easy, but we will fight to the end. Everything is going well for us.”
Lategan’s tough day included navigation issues and a couple of punctures that slowed him down. “It’s a bit of disaster to be honest. It was really a mess. We got lost and had a puncture, and then towards the end, we got another one,” said the South African, whose Toyota finished 11th in the stage.
In the motorcycle category, Argentine Luciano Benavides (KTM) claimed his second consecutive stage win, finishing 1 minute and 54 seconds ahead of French rider Adrien Van Beveren (Honda). Despite Benavides’ strong performance, Australian Daniel Sanders maintained his overall lead, finishing third on the stage and extending his advantage over second-placed Spaniard Tosha Schareina to 14 minutes and 45 seconds.
Benavides, who had to open the road following his win in Stage 8, expressed satisfaction with his navigation skills on the challenging stage. “Honestly, it was super hard to open. There were many points with tricky navigation, but I’m really happy with the rhythm I had opening,” he said.
With three stages remaining, the battle for both the car and motorcycle titles remains intense, with Al-Rajhi and Sanders maintaining their lead while their rivals remain determined to challenge them.
