There are Wolves, Rangers and Rovers, and there are … Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk. The 2025 Dakar Rally winners showed all their skills on the third stage around al-‘Ula as they defended their title.
Important kilometers on the “Road to Dakar” – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk competitive in Portugal
Further contributions
Back on track: Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk impress on stage two of the Dakar Rally
Back on the road to success: “Dakar” title defenders Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have made their first mark in the Dakar Rally with third place on the day.
First things come differently … – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with frustrating “Dakar” stage at the beginning
Now it’s time to go: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have started the 2026 Dakar Rally with a lot of lost time.
On the pace at the start – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk with a solid prologue at the Dakar Rally
Sixth position on short 22-kilometer prologue - Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk in tightly bunched leading group Brevity with spice: Tricky opening stage in terms of driving and navigation sets the "Dakar" tone early on The real kick-off follows on Sunday with the first stage...
In demand, hunted – Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take on the “Dakar” title defense mission
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk start the 2026 Dakar Rally from January 3 to 17 in Saudi Arabia as defending champions in a tricky mission.
New car, new victory, new title
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk end the 2025 cross-country rally season with a victory and the title of Saudi Arabian champions New car for the Dakar Rally: tested, tried, run in Jeddah Rally offers compact preparation for the January highlight: the "Dakar" title...
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk win Baja Qassim
First success on the "Road to the 'Dakar'" - Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk win round of the Saudi Arabian Rally Championship Terrain in the province of Qassim good preparation for the Dakar Rally in January Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk gain rally and self-confidence after around 400...
“Road to the ‘Dakar'” through Morocco particularly rocky
Not yet back to 100 percent – that’s the realization for Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Timo Gottschalk after the Morocco Rally.
Engine failure! Bitter disappointment for Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk in Abu Dhabi
Kilometer 13 on the final day brings the end: Technical problem costs valuable points and the lead in the FIA Cross Country Rally World Championship (W2RC) Almost "zero" instead of fourth place in the unloved Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Looking ahead: three more World...
Into the top ten – Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk with a solid performance during the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Eighth place with the prospect of a top five finish: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk cleverly manage the unpopular Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge ahead of the final two stages Focus on points instead of risk: "Dakar" winner with solid pace Lots of dunes with a tricky...
Lisbon, Portugal (September 28, 2025) – Carefully feeling their way back to the top of the world: Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk showed good form at the Rally Portugal. The Dakar winners proved their competitiveness on many stages of the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship (W2RC), but also suffered a setback. On the second stage, lying in sixth place overall, they unfortunately hit a bridge barrier and had to retire early that day. Nevertheless, they proved their pace on the remaining stages, even after returning to the rally. Although the Saudi Arabian-Brandenburg duo took a cautious approach, they were on par with the world’s best on those sections where they pushed hard.
In Portugal, they covered important kilometers to get back into the rhythm of competition and are overall on the right track – which will continue with the Rally Morocco and two rallies in Saudi Arabia, culminating in their title defense at the 2026 Dakar Rally in January.
Overall victory in Rally Portugal went to Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleon (BRA/ESP) ahead of their Toyota teammates Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (RSA/RSA).
QUOTES
“We wanted to get back into the rhythm of rallying here in Portugal and see how we measure up against the competition. Overall, we are on the right track. The rally was difficult and more like a sprint rally than a real marathon rally. Except for the mishap with the bridge barrier, we are satisfied.“
YAZEED AL-RAJHI
”The Rally Portugal was extremely tricky for both drivers and co-drivers with its narrow sections in World Rally Championship style. For us navigators, there were a lot of announcements to make and a lot of roadbook entries, but overall they weren’t particularly precise. We are satisfied so far and have shown our usual pace in some sections. We want to continue to use the upcoming rallies to get back to 100 percent by the time the Dakar comes around.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK