Toyota driver takes the lead in Dakar, Sebastien Loeb keeps his chances alive

On Monday, the gruelling 48-hour marathon stage concluded, covering nearly a thousand competitive kilometres. Including the liaison sections, the total distance reached almost two thousand kilometres, making it a true monster stage.

The winner of this tough challenge was Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi, who edged out Hank Lategan by a mere four minutes after nearly 11 hours of driving. Five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar secured third place on the stage.

In the overall standings after two stages, Toyota driver Lategan holds the lead. Fellow Toyota competitor Al-Rajhi is in second place, trailing the leader by just under five minutes. Driving for Dacia, Al-Attiyah is in third place, 11 minutes behind Lategan.

Rally legend Sébastien Loeb experienced a technical issue on Sunday but managed to get his Dacia back to full performance relatively quickly. The French ace, who has shown great resilience, is currently in sixth place. Despite being nearly 20 minutes off the lead, Loeb still has a chance to contend for the victory.

Loeb has participated in the Dakar Rally several times, but a win continues to elude him. Last year, Loeb finished third in the gruelling event. He has been on the podium an impressive five times, securing second place in 2017, 2022, and 2023.

Last year’s winner, Carlos Sainz, had a disastrous marathon stage. Sainz damaged his Ford on Sunday but managed to reach the finish. However, his overall deficit has ballooned to nearly an hour and a half.

In fourth place overall is Toby Price, who transitioned from motorcycles to cars for this year’s race. The Australian driver has previously won the Dakar in the motorcycle category in 2016 and 2019. Behind Price is Sweden’s Mattias Ekström, driving a Ford.

On Tuesday, the Dakar Rally continues with the third stage, spanning approximately 500 kilometres. The rally concludes on 17 January.

Dakar Rally results after 2/12 stages: