2025 Dakar Rally Stage 9: Nasser Al-Attiyah leads the cars while Luciano Benavides continues to lead amongst the bikes

Stage 9 of the 2025 Dakar Rally took the competitors from Riyadh to Haradh in Saudi Arabia. Over a distance of 357km against the clock, it was Nasser Al-Attiyah and Luciano Benavides who ended up with the fastest times in the cars and bikes category, respectively. Here’s a breakdown of the class-wise standings after the ninth stage of the rally.

2025 Dakar Rally bikes

As mentioned above, Red Bull KTM Factory rider Luciano Benavides clocked the fastest time in Stage 9, with Adrien Van Beveren from the Monster Energy Honda team was nearly two minutes off the leader’s pace. Daniel Sanders from the Red Bull KTM Factory team completed the podium for the ninth stage of the gruelling rally.

2025 Dakar Rally cars

“There is no time left to gain time” is what Nasser Al-Attiyah must have said to himself on waking in Riyadh and the Qatari driver went on an all-out attack on the day’s stage – ending up with the fastest time in the cars category. In second place, from the X-Raid Mini JCW team was Guillaume De Mevius, 2 minutes and 47 seconds off the leader Al-Attiyah’s pace. The third place went to Yazeed Al Rajhi from the Overdrive Racing team, completing the podium for the ninth stage of the rally.

2025 Dakar Rally trucks

Ales Loprais clocked the fastest time in the trucks category for his team Instatrade Loprais, with Mitchell Van Den Brink from the Eurol Rally Sport outfit coming in second place, 1 minute and 29 seconds behind the leader Loprais. Vaidotas Zala from the Skuba Team De Rooy FPT completed the podium for trucks in Stage 9 of the 2025 Dakar Rally.

Indians at the 2025 Dakar Rally

Sanjay Takale is racing in the Classic category of the 2025 Dakar, and the Indian competitor finished the ninth stage of the rally in 17th position. Sanjay Takale is the first Indian to take part in a four-wheeler category of the Dakar Rally, and is currently the only Indian competitor still present in the rally.

Stage 10 of the Dakar Rally will take competitors east of Haradh and the day will kick off before dawn requiring competitors to ride in pure sand in the dunes, essentially marking the start of the penultimate empty quarter. While the tenth stage has a 520km road section and 115km of timed specials, the relatively short stage will push the competitors hard, with hidden dangers present behind every dune. The 635km long stage will throw a lot of challenges in the face of the competitors, especially due to its technical nature. Stay tuned to this space or our Instagram for more updates on the 2025 Dakar Rally!