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SA duo drop to second ahead of final Dakar Rally stage

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epa11813442 Henk Lategan of South Africa and Brett Cummings of South Africa compete with their Toyota Hilux for Imt Evo Toyota Gazoo Racing during the fourth stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally, from Al Henakiyah to Alula, Saudi Arabia, 08 January 2025. EPA/Gerard Laurenssen

The penultimate stage of Dakar 2025 saw an all-Toyota showdown near Shubaytah, in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (#211) in their GR Hilux EVO started the day as overall rally leaders, but their road position counted against them during the 275km long 11th Stage. They drove at a fast pace, but quickly caught up with the cars at the front, putting them at a clear disadvantage.

This opened the door for Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk in their privately entered Toyota Hilux to pounce. The Saudi driver and his German co-driver set the third-fastest time on the day, besting Lategan/Cummings by 8min 38sec. This was enough to give them the outright lead by 6min 11sec, with just the final, short stage of 61km to go.

Behind the leaders, it was Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon (#203) who went second-fastest of the TGR crews. They had the tough task of opening the stage, which consisted of a sea of dunes. This was a daunting task, but the Brazilian driver saw it as a learning opportunity, and was pleased to remain the leading car throughout the day – testimony to their speed and navigation skills. Moraes/Monleon lost 35min 48sec to the stage winners, and are now in 15th place overall.

Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet (#218) struggled with the all-dune stage. They started strong, but got stuck twice during the stage, and Variawa was also plagued by motion sickness, which is a common occurrence in long dune stages. The young driver had to stop the car in order to recover, but lost 36min 45sec on the day. Variawa/Cazalet are well down in the overall standings, more than 9 hours adrift, following a disastrous second stage.

There was frustration for TGR’s Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz (#204). The pair had a problem with one of the dampers on their car, and were forced to stop for repairs. A hydraulic line feeding one of the car’s onboard jacks failed, costing the crew significant time with their repairs. They lost 47min 14sec on the stage, but remain in the Top 10 overall – 2hr 19min 47sec behind the leaders.

The final stage of Dakar 2025 will take place tomorrow, bringing the 12-stage event to a close at the bivouac in Shubaytah. The stage starts with a liaison of 70km, before a 61km-long timed section will bring the competitors back to bivouac, where the podium celebrations will take place. Competitors are set to start the stage in multiple waves of four cars, which should set the scene for a spectacular finish among the dunes of Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter.

QUOTES:
Henk Lategan: “That was about the best we could do. Here and there, we could push a little bit more and take a bit more risk. But the car’s in one piece and we didn’t miss any waypoints. It’s been a very good day for us, and it’s been an awesome race. I think our road position just counted against us a little bit today. So yeah, we couldn’t have finished much quicker. A good day in general.”