Toyota driver Lategan further strengthened his lead on Monday after excelling in the 487-kilometre stage. He clocked the fastest time, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of his teammate Guy Botterill.
What made Lategan’s performance even more significant was that his closest challengers lost more ground to the South African’s pace. Lategan now holds a 5-minute and 41-second lead over second-placed Yazeed Al-Rajhi in the overall standings.
Lategan had lost a significant chunk of his lead on the previous stage due to navigation errors, but he now finds himself in a better position. Third-placed Mattias Ekström struggled on Monday, losing over 18 minutes to the Toyota driver and dropping to nearly half an hour behind in the overall standings.
Lategan’s lead could have been even greater if not for a two-minute penalty for exceeding the speed limit in a control zone.
Fourth-placed Dakar veteran Nasser Al-Attiyah also struggled, finishing the stage more than 12 minutes behind Lategan. The Qatari driver, competing in a Dacia, is now 34 minutes adrift of the leader.
“It was a very tough day. Sometimes when we were opening it was very difficult. Yazeed (Al-Rajhi) had a good line and when he passed we just followed him, until the dunes when we passed him, but it was really difficult,” Al-Attiyah said.
“I am happy to finish this day. We still have four days left and we’ll see,” added Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar winner.
The Dakar Rally continues on Tuesday with a 357-kilometre stage across the desert.
Dakar Rally standings after stage 8/12:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Henk Lategan | Toyota | 42:05:02 |
| 2. | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Toyota | +5:41 |
| 3. | Mattias Ekström | Ford | +28:55 |
| 4. | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Dacia | +34:14 |
| 5. | Mitchell Guthrie | Ford | +55:39 |
| 6. | Mathieu Serradori | Century | +58:24 |
| 7. | Juan Yacopini | Toyota | +1:32:11 |
| 8. | Seth Quintero | Toyota | +1:36:54 |
