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Dakar Rally Stage 9: Al-Attiyah Triumphs as Al-Rajhi Takes Overall Lead
Nasser Al-Attiyah showcased his resilience by winning Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally after a challenging outing the day before. In a turn of events, a puncture for fellow competitor Henk Lategan elevated Yazeed Al-Rajhi to the top of the overall standings.
The stage, stretching 357 km between Riyadh and Haradh, saw Al-Attiyah from Dacia and Mattias Ekstrom from Ford engage in an intense battle, frequently swapping positions. Initially, Al-Attiyah had the upper hand, but Ekstrom managed to take the lead approximately 81 km into the stage.
However, Al-Attiyah fought back and regained the lead at the next checkpoint. He gradually widened the gap as the stage progressed, ultimately finishing with a margin of 2 minutes and 47 seconds ahead of Guillaume de Mevius from X-raid Mini, who secured second place after making a late podium push.
Mevius had consistently stayed in third place throughout the largely gravel terrain of Tuesday’s challenge until he surpassed Ekstrom at the 217 km point, marking his best stage finish since winning Stage 6.
Meanwhile, Al-Rajhi, driving for Overdrive, delivered a commendable performance in a customer Toyota, finishing third and pushing Ekstrom’s Ford into fourth position.
#201 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Yazeed Al Rajhi, Timo Gottschalk
Photo by: A.S.O.
Rokas Backiuska, Al-Rajhi’s teammate, rounded out the top five, edging out Mitch Guthrie Jr., who was competing in another Ford and gearing up for his debut in the rally.
Notably, none of the factory Toyota teams managed to break into the top 10 as Guy Botterill withdrew from the race after an incident at the 272 km mark, and Lategan’s puncture, which cost him significant time, left him finishing in 11th, a stark contrast to his victory on Stage 8.
Lategan’s struggles allowed Al-Rajhi to seize the lead in the Ultimate class with only three stages remaining, giving the Saudi driver a comfortable advantage of 7 minutes and 9 seconds at the top of the standings. Ekstrom remains in a strong third place in Ford’s inaugural factory outing, while Al-Attiyah trails closely behind, now less than a minute off the pace.
Guthrie Jr. occupies fifth, and Matthieu Serradori has solidified his position in sixth despite a less impactful performance on Tuesday.
Dakar 2025 – Results after Stage 9 (Top 10)
Pos
Driver
Car
Time/Gap
1
Yazeed Al-Rajhi
Toyota
33h43m58s
2
Henk Lategan
Toyota
7m09s
3
Mattias Ekstrom
Ford
24m50s
4
Nasser Al-Attiyah
Dacia
25m21s
5
Mitch Guthrie Jr
Ford
56m28s
6
Matthieu Serradori
Century
1h06m52s
7
Juan Cruz Yacopini
Toyota
1h44m41s
8
Seth Quintero
Toyota
1h46m07s
9
Joao Ferreira
Mini
2h11m02s
10
Brian Baragwanath
Century
2h31m14s
Source
www.motorsport.com