Yazeed Al Rajhi usurped the South African at the top of the standings.
However, it was former winner Nasser Al-Attiyah who won stage nine, in the process, he clawed back time against the race leaders. As a result of his win, the Qatari driver had to lead the way during the 2025 Dakar stage 10.
The tenth stage took place within the Empty Quarter, an area that is devoid of life and characterised of massive rolling dunes. Competitors had to travel over 500km to the start of the stage before competing in a 115km timed section that would end in Shubaytah.
Leading the way, or opening the road as crews call it, is usually detrimental to one’s stage time, as we have seen before during the 2025 Dakar. The first car out of the starting gate has to find the route, while others behind can simply follow tracks made by those ahead to confirm their navigation.
Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandrider) chose the wrong path early in the stage. As a result, he lost time and was quickly caught on the road by Al Rajhi. He continued to lose time to the men ahead of him in the overall standings, as much as seven minutes by the halfway point of the stage.
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