The Dakar Rally has been held in several countries since its inaugural edition in 1979, but no driver had managed to lift the Touareg trophy on home soil until Yazeed Al-Rajhi this year. The Saudi driver won an atypical 2025 event in which a number of favourites fell by the wayside early on,

Stage 12 of the 47th edition of the Dakar rally saw Michael Docherty and Lucas Moraes win the stage as KTMs Daniel Sanders and Overdrive Racings Yazeed Al Rajhi took the overall wins at Dakar 2025. Click for more details.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi to win the Dakar Rally when he completed the race on home sand on Friday. After 13 days of desert racing and more than 5,000 kilometers of specials, Al-Rajhi beat home Henk Lategan of South Africa by less than four minutes,

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.

Local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi secured his first Dakar title on Friday, finishing the 12-stage rally almost four minutes ahead of his closest competitor Henk Lategan, while Red Bull KTM's Daniel Sanders maintained his lead to win in the motorcycle category.

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.

Saudi Arabia's Yazeed al-Rajhi made history by becoming the first Saudi driver to win the Dakar Rally. Read More: Al Nassr to Announce a New Contract for Cristiano Ronaldo Al-Rajhi beat South Africa's Henk Lategan in a Toyota by 3m 57s,

Yazeed Al Rajhi is the first Saudi driver to win the Dakar in the Ultimate class. The title is his first in 11 Dakars. His previous best was third in 2022. Al Rajhi beat South Africa’s Henk Lategan by 3min 57sec with Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden finishing third.