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Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk go into the second “Dakar” week in second place overall

9. January 2025

Further contributions

“Dakar”, fast forward – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk take overall lead

From +5:41 to -7:09 minutes: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take the lead in the Dakar Rally Third place on the day: courage and willpower are rewarded on the challenging stage to Haradh Particularly fast special stage over 357 kilometers with an extra challenge...

  • Clever management after the previous day’s stage win: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk fifth on the last stage before the rest day
  • Second position in the overall standings secured: Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo cushions the disadvantage of the route opening
  • Stage five leads from al-‘Ula to Ha’il with fast slopes at the start and technical sections towards the finish

Ha’il, Saudi Arabia (January 8, 2025) – Disadvantage cushioned, perfect starting position created for the start of the second “Dakar” week: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk defended their second position in the overall standings at the Dakar Rally with fifth place on the day after winning the previous day’s stage. As the first vehicle on the route, they lost time to those behind them, as expected, but kept the time loss to a minimum. They even made common cause with the overall leaders Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (RSA/RSA) towards the end and rode in a pack with them for long stretches. This added up to a 3:23-minute gap, which adds up to a total of 10:17 minutes – so everything is still open for the second “Dakar” week. After the rest day on Friday, the Dakar Rally starts again on Saturday, working its way from the north of Saudi Arabia to the Empty Quarter, where the world’s most hostile desert awaits with major challenges. 2,748 stage kilometers have been completed so far, 2,464 are still to come. The 428 km long special stage from al-‘Ula to Ha’il began with a powerful wake-up call. Out of the marathon bivouac, it was full speed ahead before the sandy surface caused the average speeds to drop. The closer the teams got to Ha’il, the more stones, rocks and scree were on the agenda. A “Dakar” certainty was confirmed once again: a rest day always has to be earned first with a lot of hard work in the desert. This was also the case in 2025: the final stage of the first “Dakar” week challenged drivers and co-drivers alike.

QUOTES

“The first week of the Dakar Rally is over and we are still at the front of the field. I think we did a good job again today. The navigation was anything but easy for Timo, but we did a good job. Of course, those who started further back will make up a lot of time – it’s a constant give and take. Hopefully it will be our turn again the day after tomorrow …”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“The stage today was really tough again. Lots of tricky navigation, lots of sand, lots of stones and boulders in the sand that you had to drive over … it had everything, including some super-fast sections. We can make up for the time we lost today by opening up the day after tomorrow. The important thing is to take a day off in between!”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK

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