2025 Dakar Rally Stage 3 update: Sanders battles on in bikes as Lategan continues leading cars

Stage 3 of the 2025 Dakar Rally was scheduled to take competitors from Bisha to Al Henakiyah. However, severe storms in the Al Henakiyah region led organizers to alter the stage. The initial distance of 496km was reduced to 327km, cutting out the sections impacted by the storms. Despite the challenging conditions, the rally continued with fierce competition across all categories. Here’s a report.

2025 Dakar Rally: Bikes

The day started with Red Bull KTM’s Daniel Sanders setting a fast pace, holding the best time after 36km. But competitors like Lorenzo Santolino and Bradley Cox soon started gaining ground. Santolino and Cox took advantage of the tracks left by the top riders and soon moved ahead of Sanders after 69km. Hero’s Branch had a good day briefly leading the race at the km 118 mark. But it was Santolino and Cox who were the dominant forces today.
By the end of Stage 3, Lorenzo Santolino claimed his first Dakar stage victory, finishing 1min 21sec ahead of Bradley Cox and 4min 01sec ahead of Ricky Brabec. This victory marks Sherco’s first stage win in Saudi Arabia, a significant milestone for the French brand. Later though, Cox received a penalty and thus was dropped to 14th, bumping Monster Energy Honda’s Brabec and Skyler Howes on the podium.

Daniel Sanders, despite losing 5 minutes during the stage, maintains his overall lead, but the gaps have closed significantly, with Howes 1min 57sec behind, and Branch trailing by 2min 5sec. The fight for the podium remains incredibly close, with the top four all within five minutes of each other.

2025 Dakar Rally: Cars

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Henk Lategan, who started Stage 3 as the leader, lost 5min 50sec to Lucas Moraes after 118km. Nasser Al Attiyah, driving for Dacia Sandriders, took full advantage of this, gaining over 3 minutes on Lategan. By the end of the stage, Al Attiyah had reduced the gap in the overall standings to 7min 17sec. Lategan, though still leading the cars class, faces pressure from the Qatari champion as the rally progresses.

The race saw several lead changes with as many as seven competitors within two minutes of each other at one point. The highlight, though, was 19-year-old South African driver Saood Variawa, who clinched his first Dakar stage victory. After a mechanical issue during the 48-hour Chrono stage, Variawa bounced back with an impressive performance, finishing 33sec ahead of Guerlain Chicherit and 01min 48sec in front of Guillaume de Mevius.

2025 Dakar Rally: Trucks

The trucks category has seen intense competition, with four drivers finishing within two minutes of each other after 69km with Ales Loprais from InstaTrade Loprais Team De Rooy FPT and Vaidotas Zala from Skuba Team DE Rooy FPT being in a tough battle. Loprais claimed victory in the trucks category, edging out Zala by 53 seconds. Mitchel Van Den Brink finished third, 2min 07sec behind Loprais.

Title holder Martin Macík lost time during the stage, allowing Loprais to close the gap in the overall standings. Loprais is now just 3min 34sec behind Macík, setting up an exciting battle for the trucks category title.

2025 Dakar Rally: Indians in the Rally

In the bikes class, Ashish Raorane, riding with Xraids Experience, finished 99th today and holds 96th place after Stage 3, moving up one place from yesterday. Jatin Jain, who retired from the rally yesterday, continues for the experience.

Stage 3 brought its fair share of drama, with weather challenges, positional changes, and standout performances across all classes. Stage 4 takes them to Al Ula, famous for its volcanic terrain and technical sections.