Dakar 2025 |
Stage 10 |
HARADH
> SHUBAYTAH
January 15
th
2025
– 15:32
[GMT + 3]
- Accurately predicting that the main contenders would keep their powder dry, Michael Docherty went for broke today. The South African Rally 2 biker danced gracefully over the dunes to take his very first Dakar stage win by 1′20″ over Rui Gonçalves and 2′21″ over Tobias Ebster.
- As expected, the title contenders kept their cards close to their chests in anticipation of the second stage in the Empty Quarter, which will take place tomorrow. Daniel Sanders remains perched at the top of the ranking with 16′31″ in hand over Tosha Schareina and 22′24″ over Adrien Van Beveren. The starting order, which will keep fans and pundits busy, will encourage the rivals of the man from Oz to try and stage a sensational comeback.
- Starting far behind was a must for any driver eyeing victory on the dedicated course for cars. Nani Roma, the 27th driver out of the gate, pounced on the opportunity and went back to his winning ways at the Dakar a decade later. Back then, the Spaniard was driving a Mini, and today, he earned Ford its first win with the Raptor by a slim 18-second margin over Lucas Moraes! This is his 26th career special in the motorbike and car categories combined.
- As short as it was, the stage reshaped on the top of the classification, with Henk Lategan soldiering through an unpleasant day to retake the overall lead. He now leads Yazeed Al Rajhi by 2′27″ and Mattias Ekström by 26′46″. The Saudi got stuck in a hollow for a short time, while the Swede eased up for strategic reasons near the finish.
- Nasser Al Attiyah, on the other hand, most definitely did not lose time on purpose. He dropped about 20 minutes to Roma after messing up his navigation at km 9. Henk Lategan, half an hour away, may as well be on the other side of the world, but with Mattias Ekström under 4 minutes away, the Qatari can still salvage his honour and finish on the bottom step of the podium.
ULTIMATE | All roads lead to Roma
Nani Roma has taken stage 10 of the 47th Dakar in the Ultimate class, ending a drought that started in 2015. This is also Ford’s maiden Dakar victory.
SSV | A 5-star performance by “Chaleco”
Yesterday’s winner, “Chaleco” López, kept the momentum going with another triumph today in the Empty Quarter. The Chilean bagged his fifth win of the season and clawed back a bit of time from Xavier de Soultrait, who remains firmly ensconced in second place overall. Brock Heger, clocking the fifth-fastest time at the finish, with the same result as Sara Price, can afford to approach the final two stages with confidence, with nearly 1 h 50 in hand over De Soultrait and about 2 h 07 over López.
Challenger | Akeel picks up first win in Dakar
Dania Akeel ruled the roost in the Challenger class in today’s special. Competing on home soil, the Saudi driver set the fastest time, finishing over 3 minutes ahead of Pau Navarro (+3′04″) and 5′48″ clear of Gonçalo Guerreiro. Akeel now joins an elite group of women to win a stage in the Dakar, alongside Jutta Kleinschmidt, Cristina Gutiérrez and Sara Price. In the overall car rankings for the day, Akeel wrapped up the special in third place, just 1′40″ off Nani Roma.
Truck | Loprais takes stage 10
Ales Loprais, the first in the truck category to reach the finish, clinched his fourth win of the year with a razor-thin margin of just 48″ over Mitchel van den Brink and 2′23″ over Martin Macík. Tomorrow, Macík will tackle the final two stages en route to the finish with a commanding lead of over 2h 22 on Van den Brink. However, the battle for second place is far from settled, with Van den Brink and Loprais separated by just over 4 minutes.
