Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al Rajhi drives during the Dakar Rally 2025.
Bisha: Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi led at the midway point of the marathon 48-hour second stage of the Dakar Rally yesterday as two big names suffered a wretched day in the dunes.
Carlos Sainz lost 40 minutes after his Ford Raptor flipped while Sebastien Loeb's hopes of winning his first title cooled with a fan issue on his Ford.
That left the veteran former world rally legend over half an hour behind virtual leader Al Rajhi, who can sympathise at his rivals' misfortunes after having to abandon the Dakar during this very stage 12 months ago.
Introduced for the first time in 2024 the intrepid Dakar competitors on four wheels and two will cover almost 1000km over the two days.
Yesterday's first segment came to a close when the clock struck 1700 in Saudi Arabia, the time for all competitors to head to their nearest break zone and try to get some sleep under the stars before today's conclusion, setting off at sunrise.
As the drivers headed off to get some well earned sleep Al Rajhi, third in 2022, was 1min 19sec clear of Nasser Al Attiyah, and also provisionally heads the Qatari five-time winner in the overall rankings.
