Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi has taken advantage of a miserable stage by Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert.

Henk Lategan extended his lead at the top of the overall Dakar Rally standings with a dominant performance on Stage 8. The factory Toyota driver finished the test in 4h49m54s, though was docked two minutes after finishing for a speed violation,

Saudi Arabia's local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi is in the overall lead for the first time at this year's Dakar Rally after finishing third in stage nine on Tuesday, taking over from Henk Lategan who suffered two punctures.

Henk Lategan’s lead of the Dakar Rally melted to 21 seconds after a chaotic seventh stage for timings in the Saudi desert on Sunday.

South Africa's Henk Lategan, in his fourth Dakar outing, covered the 487km special between Al-Duwadimi and Riyadh in 4hr 51min 54sec.

Toyota's Henk Lategan dominated stage eight of the Dakar Rally on Monday, and despite a speed violation, the win extended his overall lead after the previous day's chaotic race had virtually wiped out his advantage over closest rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi.

After the only rest day, the caution of car front-runner Lategan and motorbike pace-setter Sanders allowed their closest pursuers to catch up by up to four minutes on the sixth stage from Ha’il south to Al Duwadimi. South African driver Lategan was seventh on the stage, 6 1/2 minutes behind Belgian winner Guillaume de Mévius.

Stage 8 of the 47th edition of the Dakar rally saw competitors travel from Al Duwadimi to the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh. KTMs Luciano Benavides and Toyotas Henk Lategan claimed victory today.

Dakar Rally roared into life Friday with the high-speed Prologue stage, featuring 29km/18 miles against the clock around the Start Camp in Bisha, Saudi Arabia. In the Ultimate class, Henk

South Africa's Saood Variawa became the youngest-ever stage winner at the Dakar Rally when he triumphed in stage 3 on Tuesday.