The Dakar 2025 started on January 3 and will still be held entirely in Saudi Arabia this year. Find all the information on the most prestigious rally-raid.
Here we go again for a ride. The 47th edition of the Dakar will take place between January 3 and 17, 2025 with this year once again a route entirely traced in Saudi Arabia. A prologue and twelve stages are offered to competitors, including the formidable “48h chrono”, introduced in 2024, from the third day. The pilots will then cover more than 1,000 kilometers in two days, including 965 of the special, with a stop at 4 p.m. on the first day, with the obligation for everyone to reach the nearest rest area. Competitors have camping equipment to spend the night in the desert without having any information on the performance of their rivals.
If this marathon stage is one of the keys to the race, other traps were set for participants during the 15 days of the rally. Last year, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz won in the car category while the American Ricky Brabec triumphed in the motorcycle category. Often placed but never a winner, Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, now behind the wheel of a Dacia, hopes that his ninth participation will be a good one. Note that Stéphane Peterhansel, nicknamed “Mr. Dakar” because of his 14 victories (6 on motorcycles then 8 on cars) – the first in 1991, the last in 2021 – has decided not to start this year.
Cars: The prologue ranking*
1. Lategan/Cummings (Toyota Gazoo) 15’28”
2. Ekstrom/Bergkvist (Ford M-Sport) at 1″
3. Al Attiyah/Boulanger (Dacia Sandriders) at 20″
4. Baciuska/Mena (Overdrive) at 21″
5. Ferreira/Palmeiro (X Raid Mini) at 26″
6. Baragwanath/Kremer (Century Racing) at 30″
7. Loeb/Lurquin (Dacia Sandriders) at 33″
8. Moraes/Monleon (Toyota Gazoo) at 35″
9. Roma/Haro (Ford M-Sport) mt
10. Variawa/Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo) at 41″
*prologue gaps are not taken into account for the general classification in the car category
Motorcycles: The general classification (after the prologue)
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS/KTM) 16’51”
2. Ross Branch (BWA/Hero) at 12″
3. Edgar Canet (ESP/KTM) mt
4. Ricky Brabec (USA/Honda) at 18″
5. Tosha Schareina (ESP/Honda) at 25″
6. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI/Honda) at 27″
7. Luciano Benavides (ARG/KTM) at 40″
8. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA/Honda) at 41″
9. Michael Docherty (AFS/KTM) at 47″
10. Skyler Howes (USA/Honda) at 52″
What is the route for the Dakar 2025?
Prologue – January 3: Bisha (79km including 29km of special)
Stage 1 – January 4: Bisha-Bisha (500km including 412km special)
Stage 2 48 hours flat – January 5/6: Bisha-Bisha (1057km including 965km of special)
Stage 3 – January 7: Bisha- Al Henakiyah (845km including 496km of special)
Stage 4 – January 8: Al Henakiyah-Al Ula (588km including 415km of special)
Stage 5 – January 9: Al Ula-Hail (491km including 428km of special)
Rest: January 10
Stage 6 – January 11: Hail-Al Duwadimi (829km including 606km of special)
Stage 7 – January 12: Al Duwadimi-Al Duwadimi (745km including 481km of special)
Stage 8 – January 13: Al Duwadimi-Riyadh (733km including 487km of special)
Stage 9 – Tuesday January 14: Riyadh-Haradh (589 including 357km of special)
Stage 10 – January 15: Haradh-Shubaytah (638km including 119km special)
Stage 11 – January 16: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (506km including 280km special)
Stage 12 – January 17: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (205km including 134km special)
Who are the main favorites in the auto category?
#200 Al Attiyah/Boulanger (Dacia Sandriders)
#201 Al Rajhi/Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing)
#202 Chicherit/Winocq (X-Raid Mini)
#203 Moraes/Monleon (Toyota Gazoo)
#204 Quintero/Zens (Toyota Gazoo)
#205 Botterill/Cummigs (Toyota Gazoo)
#206 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota Gazoo)
#208 Vanagas/Gospodarczyk (Toyota Gazoo)
#209 Serradori/Minaudier (Century Racing)
#219 Loeb/Lurquin (Dacia Sandriders)
#221 Prokop/Chytka (Orlen Jipocar)
#222 De Mevius/Baumel (X-Raid Mini)
#225 Sainz/Cruz (Ford M-Sport)
#226 Ekstrom/Bergkvist (Ford M-Sport)
#227 Roma/Haro (Ford M-Sport)
Who are the main favorites in the motorcycle category?
#1 Ross Branch (BWA/Hero)
#4 Daniel Sanders (AUS/KTM)
#7 Pablo Quintanilla (CHI/Honda)
#9 Ricky Brabec (USA/Honda)
#10 Skyler Howes (USA/Honda)
#11 Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (CHI/Hero)
#12 Bradley Cox (AFS/KTM)
#13 Martin Michek (RTC/Orion)
#16 Romain Dumontier (FRA/Honda)
#18 Jan Brabec (RTC/STorjent)
#42 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA/Honda)
#47 Kevin Benavides (ARG/KTM)
#77 Luciano Benavides (ARG/KTM)
#142 Stefan Svitko (SVQ/Slovnaft)
On which TV channel to follow the Dakar 2025?
Like last year, the L’Equipe channel, free and available on TNT, is the official broadcaster of the Dakar 2025. The arrival of the stages is broadcast live every day from 11:50 a.m. For those who cannot watch, the Dakar Journal, at 6:10 p.m., is an opportunity to see the main images of the day while The Grand Summary, at 8:05 p.m., offers a more complete breakdown with the reactions of the main competitors. All live broadcasts and replays are available simultaneously on the L’Équipe website and application.
Eurosport is also still involved. A daily program of around fifty minutes to look back at the highlights of the race is broadcast at 9 p.m. on Eurosport 1, from January 3 to 11, then on Eurosport 2 between January 12 and 17. Night owls can watch the rebroadcast from midnight, otherwise you have to wait until the next morning at 8:30 a.m. Finally, France Télévisions covers the 47th edition of the Dakar through the program Tout le Sport, scheduled from Monday to Saturday at 7:50 p.m. on France 3, and in Stade 2 on Sunday from 8:05 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. on the same channel.
11:02 – Cars: Lategan surprises the favorites
Henk Lategan was the fastest on Friday during the prologue of the Dakar held near Bisha, in Saudi Arabia. The South African, at the wheel of his Toyota Gazoo, was just a second ahead of the Swede Mattias Ekström, who moved to Ford, and by twenty the five-time winner of the rally, the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia). Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, who finally hopes to win the Dakar for his ninth participation, took seventh place at the wheel of his Dacia Sandrider 33 seconds behind the winner of the day. Unlike the motorcycles, the gaps in this prologue are not counted for the general classification, the prologue only serving to determine the order of departures for the first stage which will take place tomorrow with 412 kilometers of special.
09:54 – Motorcycles: The prologue for Sanders
Daniel Sanders won the prologue of the 2025 Dakar. The Australian, among the favorites for the final victory, hit the gas during the 29 kilometers of special covered around Bisha, in Saudi Arabia. The KTM rider relegated Ross Branch (Hero), who also came with great ambitions, and the Spaniard Edgard Canet (KTM) by 12 seconds while the outgoing winner, the American Ricky Brabec (Honda), took fourth place at 18 seconds. On the podium in Dakar last year, Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) limited the damage by placing eighth, conceding 48 seconds to the winner of the day.