The 47th edition of the Dakar has set a date for the world's rally-raiders in Saudi Arabia from 3 to 17 January.
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
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https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2025
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
More information:
https://www.dakar.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dakar
https://www.twitter.com/Dakar
https://www.instagram.com/DakarRally
#Dakar2025
© Amaury Sport Organisation - https://www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00The
00:29Thursday morning fog was so thick that the helicopters, essential for rider safety, were
00:33unable to fly, so everyone just waited, for hours, until the sky cleared.
00:37Everyone's sitting here for a long time in the sun now, we've already eaten our food
00:41from the break, our water's already down, so yeah, we'll see.
00:50What is the problem?
00:51We want everybody to stop at the refueling.
00:54Just one thing, if there is fog, it's true it's bad, because we don't see, but if we
00:58have no fog, let's go.
01:00I think the smart thing is to stop, I don't care, I have a good gap, I'm not worried.
01:04Hopefully they too want to continue to the stage, because they are battling for the second
01:09or third place.
01:10All the riders want to stop, I'm fifth, I should not sit.
01:13For me it's possible to go at the finish, not for the Rallye 2, it's different, but
01:17for the Rallye GP, I don't understand the problem.
01:19You always talk about safety, then why don't you just stop at the refueling?
01:23Daniel, what do you think about this decision?
01:31Let's see, it might change again.
01:33For everybody, you stop at the neutralization now, ok?
01:36Have a good day, enjoy!
01:39You can't rely on one day to get the result, it's a 12-day race, you have 12 days to do
01:48good.
01:49You want to know what's happened?
01:50You're just scared.
01:51This is what's happened.
01:52You maybe know.
01:55He's got a good point.
01:56If you're on stage 11, you're worried about your result, you should have been worried
01:59about it halfway through the stage.
02:01It's funny though, to see everyone's emotions going crazy on one of the last stages of the
02:06Dakar.
02:07Golly, handbags at dawn in the desert, but an uneasy Entente Cordiale meant that Michael
02:11Doherty eventually set off to start the special at 10.30, three and a half hours late.
02:16Adrien Van Beveren was angry, and he took it out on the course, but a misjudgment cresting
02:20a dune left him with a damaged exhaust, and that error cost him the stage by 57 seconds.
02:25It also effectively removed any chance he has of catching Tosca Serena in second overall.
02:40Luciano was also looking to move up a step, a seven-minute gap to VBA in third and a small
02:45chance to snatch a podium place, but it wasn't to be for the Sunset Strip 77.
02:51It's been a short stage on the dunes, I thought it was going to be longer and have the second
02:57half to take advantage of the physical and do the whole stage, but well, they've cut it,
03:03so I hope that tomorrow we can close a Dakar in the best way.
03:07The special belonged to Tosca Serena, Honda's third.
03:11Despite some trouble in the soft dunes, the Spaniard found some wadis to help him weave
03:15his way to a 33-second win over Benavides.
03:21I've tried to push so I don't waste time.
03:25Tomorrow I'll try to go a bit more relaxed.
03:27I knew it was going to be very difficult for Daniel to recover that time, but well, I've
03:31pushed hard until the end.
03:33There were soft dunes, there wasn't much visibility, but well, I'm happy to be here
03:36in the final stretch.
03:38Including Rally 2 riders, there are more KTMs in the top ten than Hondas.
03:42Who would have predicted that two weeks ago?
03:44Sanders comfortable and on course for a first overall title.
03:48Edgar Canett still leads Tobias Ebster by 35 minutes in Rally 2,
03:52but there is late drama in original Baimotul.
03:55Emmanuel Genes has led the class for practically the entire rally,
03:59but today, Benji Melo took over at the top.
04:01The gap, after 57 and a half hours of racing, exactly one minute wows us.
04:14Empty quarter.
04:18I'm excited to get in the dunes and see where we're at.
04:22Very difficult, very hard.
04:25You can stuck, you can roll.
04:28It can change a lot of things.
04:32The best way to learn is to go there and try.
04:35Empty quarter for us is easy.
04:39He say easy, you know, we'll see.
04:43It's just survival to the end.
04:47We have a good start position.
04:50When you start in the back, you can do very good in the front.
04:54It's good, we're in the lead.
04:58It will change everything for the day.
05:00We're going to win the special.
05:03The Rub' al Khali is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world.
05:06In the empty quarter, you can feel very, very alone in this sea of sand.
05:10Lucas Moraes, still in the lead.
05:12In the empty quarter, you can feel very, very alone in this sea of sand.
05:16Lucas Moraes, second yesterday and winner of stage 7, but way down today.
05:20But you don't have to be alone.
05:22Seth Quintero and Sayud Varyawa buddied up for a while.
05:26Rokas Pashuska enjoyed the playground to post a 6th top 10,
05:30despite being chased down by Marcelo Gastaldi.
05:36He finished 19th on the day, but did bring us this spectacular helicopter shot.
05:43Mathieu Ceradori has been inconsistent and unpredictable this Dakar,
05:47which is a red flag for me.
05:49Four-wheel drive is something else.
05:51You can push, you're more efficient.
05:53By the way, the red flags are so the cars can be seen in the dunes,
05:56not because they're remote-controlled.
05:58Henk Latterken started stage 11 with a 2.5-minute advantage overall.
06:02To be honest, there's not much more we could have done today.
06:05I'm definitely not the sand and the dune expert.
06:09The man who trailed again overnight was Yazid Al-Raji,
06:12third on the day, enough to leapfrog the South African.
06:15This is some see-saw struggle in the ultimates.
06:17The result is simple. You are leading now, again,
06:20the Dakar 25 by six minutes to Latterken.
06:24It's good. Timo did a great job, and me. Everything is going well.
06:28What of Nasser Al-Attiyah?
06:30Could the Qatari king get himself back in contention?
06:32Two flat tires cost him the stage, and anyway,
06:36It's really nice to have the new car,
06:39and it's fighting for the podium.
06:43We are so happy we have a good performance,
06:46but always a new car needs time.
06:49Out in front, and the stars of today, Matthias Ekström and Emil Bergqvist.
06:53They dealt with the desert expertly, as if they'd grown up in the desert.
06:57They're not afraid of the desert.
06:59They're not afraid of the desert.
07:02I was pushing everything I could.
07:04I have nothing left to do, so I did my best.
07:11Al-Attiyah, Ekström, Latterken, Al-Raji.
07:14It's coming down to the wire.
07:16The truth is, probably it's Henk or Yazeed.
07:18There are six cars in the race.
07:20It's going to be a close race.
07:22It's going to be a close race.
07:24It's going to be a close race.
07:26It's going to be a close race.
07:28The truth is, probably it's Henk or Yazeed.
07:30There are 62 kilometres to decide the destination of Dakar 47.
07:47I think we have to try. We can't give up like this.
07:49We don't care about the podium. It's over.
07:52We're not going to get out of the car.
07:55It's up to you. It's what you want.
07:57It's bullshit. I'm sure of it.
07:59The angel and the devil.
08:25But with a two-hour lead, Brock Hager has this sewn up,
08:28barring a final stage disaster or an alien invasion.
08:32More Saudi celebrations on the penultimate day
08:34as Yassir Saidan notched a third win of this edition in Challengers.
08:37But the Cavigliassos have this sewn up,
08:40barring a final stage disaster or an alien invasion.
08:47Disaster today for Martin Schultes
08:49as he lost fourth place overall in the trucks.
08:52These dunes can be treacherous,
08:54but Martin Matzik sailed over them for his fifth win of the rally.
08:57It's now two hours 25 between the leaders and Mitchell van den Brink,
09:01so the Czechs have this sewn up,
09:03you know, barring a final stage disaster or an alien invasion.
09:12What breaks as soon as you say its name out loud?
09:15Silence.
09:16Silence is golden, as is the sand,
09:18and when the roar of the engines stop,
09:20the silence will soon return to the empty quarter.
09:23But one special remains.
09:28One more day for Sanders to hold on,
09:30one minute in original Baimotul,
09:32one new name will be written on the Ultimates trophy,
09:35and just one more highlight show left tomorrow.
09:37And I'll be here one more time,
09:39so make sure you are rally fans.