SHUBAYTAH, Saudi Arabia — The 47th Dakar Rally wrapped up Friday in Saudi Arabia with Daniel Sanders and Yazeed Al Rajhi the big winners.
One hundred and 75 vehicles completed the event, led by 77 bikes. Forty Ultimate cars, 1 stock car, 21 Challengers, 23 SSVs and 13 trucks made it to the finish line after covering the full distance of 7,828 kilometers.
The bike race witnessed a return to the top step of the podium for KTM, which enjoyed its 20th triumph on the race thanks to Sanders who became the second Australian winner on the Dakar after having dominated the race from start to finish, as Marc Coma did in 2009.
The Dakar roll of honor welcomed a new name and a new nationality in the car category thanks to Yazeed Al Rajhi. The Saudi driver persevered until his 11th participation to enjoy his date with destiny, with the rare privilege of winning the rally on home soil, as was the case when Pierre Lartigue triumphed in 1994 on the Paris-Dakar-Paris.
With Nicolas Cavigliasso (who triumphed in the quad category in 2019) winning the title in the Challenger class and Brock Heger in the SSV race on his 25th birthday, two new drivers also triumphed. Only Martin Macik, who dominated proceedings in the truck category, victoriously defended the title he conquered last year.
The Dakar Classic race for consistency came to a close with 80 vehicles (as opposed to 95 starters). Spanish title holder Carlos Santaolalla triumphed to become the first double winner since the creation of the category in 2021.
The five vehicles enrolled in the Mission 1000 challenge completed their journey through Saudi Arabia, over a distance of 1,300 kilometers for this second edition. Progress was made since last year in terms of range and performance for the KH7 truck driven by Jordi Juvanteny, who already won in 2024, as for the hydrogen-powered HySe SSV.
The three Segway electric bikes, which were newcomers to the challenge, also validated their technology on the terrains of the Dakar and can look forward with a whetted appetite to 2026.
