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.

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

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That means that TGRSA only has Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois left to support Lategan and Cummings. Giniel de Villiers threw in the towel in his last race after navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz suffered a neck injury.

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.

The seventh stage of the 2025 Dakar saw Henk Lategan’s (Toyota Gazoo Racing) lead over Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) absolutely melt

South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage on Monday.

Overdrive Toyota’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, who lost out big time on the 48-hour chrono stage in last year’s Dakar Rally, thought he had achieved the best accumulated time over the two days