• Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk take advantage of the late start and reduce the gap at the Dakar Rally to around seven minutes
• Stage from Al-Henakiyah to al-‘Ula forms the first part of a so-called marathon stage
• Be careful, but at speed: stony ground requires clever driving and keen navigation skills

al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia (January 8, 2025) – Take care of your equipment: yes, of course. And distancing yourselves from the world elite of cross-country rallying: yes, please! Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have won the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally and thus reclaimed second place in the overall standings. On the way from Al-Henakiyah to al-‘Ula, they managed to square the circle, which can only be solved mathematically in the “Dakar”. The Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo benefited from their late start as the 18th team and from the experience gained the day before in the volcanic and rocky terrain. Right from the start of the 415-kilometre special stage, they took the lead in the time table and took more and more time off the overall leaders Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (RSA/RSA) despite three punctures. They are now 6:54 minutes behind in the overall standings. Lategan/Cummings, like Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk, start with a Toyota Hilux. Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist (SWE/SWE, Ford) are now third overall – their gap to Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk is around 15 minutes after part one of the marathon stage. After an intense and dramatic start to the 2025 Dakar Rally, the focus today turned to the marathon stage, where the emphasis is on housekeeping and endurance. The route began on volcanic terrain and led over winding tracks along the breathtaking canyons of al-‘Ula. The special stage ended directly at the marathon bivouac, where tonight service is only allowed by the participants themselves.

The engineer is himself

During the marathon stage, Timo Gottschalk can also use his skills as a navigator once the work is done. The Brandenburg native is not only an automotive engineer by trade, his business also includes a car and motorcycle workshop in his home town of Rheinsberg. He was already called upon on the second stage, the now dreaded 48-hour stage: in the evening, he sealed a small leak in the oil pan and replaced the belt on one of the alternators. With success: they crossed the finish line in first place on the 48-hour stage, and Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk were subsequently classified as second due to a time credit for a team colleague.

QUOTES

“This year, the organizers have chosen extremely tough stages like this one. An enormous number of stones, extremely wild terrain – we were spot on today with our 18th starting position and were able to set a safe pace without having to take any major risks. All in all, we had three punctures and finished on the rim. Nevertheless: victory on the day! We are satisfied.”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“An extremely tough stage. Extremely hard, extremely long. I only managed to drink three times because I had to make so many announcements. At the beginning, Yazeed found a top pace: safe and fast. In the last part, there were a lot of stones hidden in the sand in the canyons, so we had three punctures and ended up winning the stage on the rim. Now we’ll look after the car, change the tires and hope for a calmer day tomorrow.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK