2025 Dakar Stage 11 was the last chance for any competitors to make real inroads on their rivals’ leads.
The penultimate stage of this year’s race was a 275km timed section in a loop around Shubaytah. The start of the race was delayed somewhat due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog.
As a result the support helicopters, which supply immediate response to any incidents, could not fly. Racing eventually got underway about 90 minutes later than scheduled.
When the race got going it was Nani Roma (Ford Raptor) who led out the cars. The Spaniard won stage 10 (as you can read here) so he was the first man on the road. But he soon stopped on the trail to wait for his teammates Mattias Ekstrom and Mitch Guthrie. Roma would be in close proximity should either crew require help. This meant that others passed and they had to find the correct route.
Dacia Sandrider pilot Cristina Gutierrez did the same to play a support role for her team leader, Nasser Al-Attyiah. The Qatari had a dismal stage 10. He could have made up massive time to the leaders, instead he lost time due to navigational errors. This left South African, Brian Baragwanath, as the man opening the road on 2025 Dakar stage 11.
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