Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day

Henk Lategan on Wednesday took a step closer to turning his dream of winning the Dakar Rally into reality by reclaiming the overall race lead with only two stages to go in Saudi A

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan regained the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday with a two minutes and 27 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi going into the penultimate stage.

The Dacia Sandriders crew consisting of driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Édouard Boulanger, representing Romanian car manufacturer Dacia at the famous Dakar Rally, secured the win in the ninth stage of the race.

That means that TGRSA only has Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois left to support Lategan and Cummings. Giniel de Villiers threw in the towel in his last race after navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz suffered a neck injury.

Toyota's Henk Lategan dominated stage eight of the Dakar Rally on Monday, and despite a speed violation, the win extended his overall lead after the previous day's chaotic race had virtually wiped out his advantage over closest rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi.

Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah hit the gas on Tuesday to win stage 9 of the Dakar Rally as Saudi Yazeed al-Rajhi took the lead in the drivers' standings.

Saudi Arabia's local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi is in the overall lead for the first time at this year's Dakar Rally after finishing third in stage nine on Tuesday, taking over from Henk Lategan who suffered two punctures.

Local driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi closed to within a minute of leader Henk Lategan in the cars category for the 2025 Dakar Rally. Here's all the highlights from what was a huge day in the Dakar in Saudi Arabia.