The 2025 Dakar will be the sixth time the event has been held in Saudi Arabia, and promises to be one of the most hotly contested in years.
Over the next 14 days, 432 bikes, cars, side-by-sides and trucks will do battle in the vast desert landscape on the Arabian Peninsula. The 47th edition begins on Friday with the road-order setting Prologue but kicks off properly on Saturday with the first of 12 arduous special stages from Bisha.
With newcomers Dacia and Ford M-Sport taking on the updated factory entries of Mini and Toyota, quite where the victory spoils will end up on January 17 is anyone’s guess.
Here’s how the main contenders for this year’s Dakar are looking.
Form Guide
Ultimate (Manufacturers)
Dacia
When the Dacia Sandrider was unveiled to the world after the 2024 Dakar Rally, it was clear this was a serious project. With input from Renault Group and Prodrive, the lightweight three-liter V6 twin-turbo car has been designed from as close to a blank sheet of paper as you could possibly imagine.
A debut one-two in Morocco demonstrated the pace and potential of the Dacia
Its drivers are pretty nifty too: Sébastien Loeb has moved sideways from the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme program and is joined by 2024 Challenger winner Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero, with whom he won the Extreme E title in 2023. The added arrival of five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah makes Dacia the early, albeit narrow, favorites for victory in Saudi Arabia.
While speed is not likely to be an issue for the Sandriders, as demonstrated by a one-two finish on its maiden outing in the World Rally-Raid Championship finale in Morocco last October, reliability in competition-trim has yet to be proven. The car completed a rigorous testing regime in ambient temperatures of over 50 degrees Celsius but overheating cockpits combined with mechanical niggles (suspension and steering for Loeb, electrical for Gutiérrez Herrero in Morocco) proved the car is not completely bulletproof.
However, having secured his third successive W2RC title in Morocco, Al-Attiyah is still at the top of his game and knows how to win. For Loeb, the goal remains the same – to take that elusive first Dakar win. Finishing second to Al-Attiyah in Morocco despite his issues, demonstrated the Frenchman has the pace and approach to take the fight to his team-mate.
According to Gutiérrez Herrero, a “top-10 finish is the main objective” but if her days in the Challenger class are anything to go by, she will more often than not be matching the pace of the big guns and could well win a stage.
It's all change at the top of Toyota's management structure, but the Hilux remains a potent weapon in Saudi
Toyota
Much has changed behind the scenes at Toyota Gazoo Racing’s off-road division, with a whole new management structure now in place. After long-time leader Glyn Hall’s retirement last year, the company is now headed by Bart Eelen and Jan Verhagen with Andrea Carlucci taking over as W2RC team principal. More recently, the Saudi-bound TGR squad has been bolstered by the arrival of Hyundai’s former WRC program manager, esteemed engineer Christian Loriaux.
And while the Hilux may be nearing the end of its development curve, there’s nothing to suggest Toyota can’t compete for the victory in Saudi Arabia. It won the W2RC manufacturers’ title for the third successive year in 2024 and, with Seth Quintero and Lucas Moraes contesting the full season again, has two rapid drivers.
In Moraes, Toyota has a Dakar podium finisher and three-time Rally dos Sertões winner, while Quintero still holds the record for the number of stage wins in a single Dakar (11 from 12 in 2022 in the Challenger class).
Among the South African contingent, the 2025 Dakar will almost certainly be Giniel de Villiers’ last for Toyota and possibly his last ever.
The veteran, who teams up with his 2009 Dakar-winning navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz, has finished 28 Dakars in a row, 16 of them inside the top 10 and so will be expected to again reach the finish later this month.
Returning after a year out is triple South African Rally Raid champion Henk Lategan, following a second shoulder surgery in three years. Lategan made his comeback in the national championship in 2024 and bagged four wins en route to the title.
Relative Dakar newcomers Saood Variawa – son of TGR’s South African boss, Shameer – and Guy Botterill have performed well in their homeland and continue their apprenticeships in Saudi Arabia.
X-raid JCW
Having endured something of a fallow period following the introduction of the original T1 regulations in 2022, X-raid Mini JCW is back on the scene with a full factory effort and an upgraded 3.0-liter petrol-powered six-cylinder RS24 BMW engine. And it is looking fast. Team founder and principal Sven Quandt is also back at the helm to orchestrate the next chapter in X-raid’s long and illustrious Dakar history (it has won the event six times, the last coming in 2021 courtesy of Stéphane Peterhansel). The team knows what victory smells like, as does Quandt, whose Q Motorsport company led the Audi project to a winning farewell in 2024 with Carlos Sainz, and it wants more.
It has recruited Guillaume de Mévius and Guerlain Chicherit to lead its effort, while Portuguese talent João Ferreria is one to watch for the future. De Mévius finished second in a customer Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux last year and third on his first outing with Mini in Morocco.
Alongside the Belgian is Mathieu Baumel, considered one of the very best navigators in the world with four Dakar wins with Al-Attiyah. Chicherit has also come from Overdrive Racing in the close season and returns to the team where it all began in the mid-2000s. The former skier had been set to finish third in Morocco, confirming the new Mini’s pace, only to be hit by a final-stage mechanical drama last October.
Although an outside bet for overall victory, Ferreira’s CV looks the part. In 2024 alone, he was crowned Portuguese Off-Road champion, FIA European Baja and World Cup Baja champion and finished second in the Dubai International behind Al-Attiyah. A fifth-place finish in the SSV category last year is his best Dakar result, but a top-10 in 2025 must surely be the aim.
M-Sport Ford Performance
Is there anything that sounds more right than M-Sport Ford and Carlos Sainz? Perhaps it depends on what generation you come from, but there’s no doubting El Matador and Dovenby Hall have gotten off to a strong start, despite some minor mechanical trouble in Morocco on the car’s first outing against representative competition.
The presence of last year’s winners Sainz and navigator Lucas Cruz in itself places the M-Sport Ford team firmly in among the favorites.
The car, which is a design lovechild of the production Bronco, F150 and Ranger models with a powerful V8 Ford Coyote engine, has been put through its paces in testing, completing thousands of miles in the UK, France and Morocco. Its competition debut came in the summer courtesy of two-time winner Nani Roma – one of only two competitors along with Peterhansel and Hubert Auriol to have won the Dakar on two and four wheels – in the Hungarian Baja. Roma won the event while the Raptor T1+’s first proper outing against its main Dakar rivals also showed promise.
Sainz won a stage and was on course to finish fifth before being withdrawn to continue its testing regime. There has been the odd mechanical gremlin, as Sainz found out after missing the start of stage two due to an engine issue.
Much like Dacia, the Dakar will likely be a case of drive and see in Saudi, but with four cars it will surely gain valuable experience for future events.
Following Sainz and Cruz in the switch from Audi is Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist, who are quickly becoming a solid, established rally raid crew, while Challenger graduates Mitch Guthrie Jr and Kellon Walch make their Raptor debuts having conducted a large chunk of the testing miles.
Ultimate (Privateers)
One of the big favorites to come from the non-factory teams will undoubtedly be Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, who led the event last year before hitting trouble in the first part of the 48H Chrono stage before the rest day. That crash totaled his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, taking him and navigator Timo Gottschalk out of the rally. Al Rajhi will arrive at the Dakar full of confidence, however, having taken victory in the Ruta 40 Desafío W2RC round in Argentina and rounding out a 2024 campaign with a fourth Saudi Rally Championship title, secured on home turf in Jeddah. The form is there, Al Rajhi just needs the luck to go with it and he’ll be in the hunt for the win.
Overdrive Racing will field nine cars in total, with Argentinian Juan Cruz Yacopini among those aiming for a top finish. Two-time former bike winners Toby Price and Sam Sunderland will line up together for their car debuts on the Dakar too.
Elsewhere, loyal supporters of the Dakar, Century Racing (10 cars) will resume their rivalry with the likes of fellow privateers MD Rallye Sport (13 cars) and Red-Lined Motorsport (eight cars), with each brand aiming to break into the top 10.
Challenger
The big news ahead of the 2025 edition is not the presence, but rather the absence of the Goczał family. Both Eryk and his uncle Michał were disqualified in the middle of last year’s event for running an illegal clutch and, despite dialogue with the FIA, the Energylandia team has elected to sit out the event.
This, along with the graduation of the top three finishers from last season (Gutiérrez Herrero, Guthrie Jr and Baciuška) to Ultimate, has left something of a vacuum to fill for one of the most open categories on the Dakar.
BBR Motorsport, running a quartet of Taurus T3 Max cars, will be among the favorites for victory, with 2024 SSV world champion Yasir Seaidan leading the charge. Team-mate and compatriot Dania Akeel – who gave Al Rajhi a run for his money in the Jeddah Rally at the wheel of a Toyota Hilux T1+ – could also be in the mix, having been crowned FIA Middle East World Cup Baja SSV champion in November. Argentinian pairing Nicolas Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertgarini won two stages on the Dakar last year, while Spanish rising star Pau Navarro (alongside Lisandro Ezequiel Sisterna Herrera) enjoyed a promising year in Ultimate, finishing fifth overall in February’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Eyes will also be on GRally Team, whose main assault should come from Rui Carneiro (with navigator Ola Fløene) and Saleh Alsaif. One to keep an eye on in the GRally Team stable is multiple Quad bike winner Alexandre Giroud who switches to cars for 2025.
The Red Bull Junior Team has a new look this year with Californian desert racer Corbin Leaverton making his Dakar debut, navigated by the experienced ex-biker Taye Perry. While there is no doubting his speed and adaptability, Leaverton heads into the event with limited testing and no Dakar-style racing experience so the trip to Saudi Arabia will be a learning curve more than anything else.
The new X-raid Fenic will also make its Dakar debut after running for the first time in the Jeddah Rally in December. Annett Quandt and Annie Seel will again be at the wheel, with Maria Gameiro and José Marques joining them in a second car.
SSV
The production-based SSV class remains one of the most competitive on the Dakar and the 2025 event will be no different. Having broken Can-Am’s stronghold last year, former biker Xavier de Soultrait will defend his title in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Polaris RZR Pro R Sport, which he won despite receiving a 25-minute penalty.
The challenge from the BRP Can-Am Factory Team will be fierce however, as the eagerly anticipated new Maverick R makes its first FIA-sanctioned appearance in Saudi Arabia. Three-time Dakar winner (twice in SSV, once in Challenger) Francisco “Chaleco” López Contardo is perhaps the most obvious victory contender, while Sara Price is back for more after shining on her SSV debut last year. Team-mates Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli and Hunter Miller make up the quartet.
South Racing Can-Am will also be running the new Maverick, with last year’s quad winner Manuel Andujar following in Giroud’s footsteps by moving up to the car category. Fernando Álvarez and Xavier Panseri provide a solid line-up that could fight for top honors, while Diego Martinez joins the team at short notice after Rebecca Busi was forced to withdraw from the event after encountering a budget shortfall just before Christmas.
Much like with Giroud in Challenger, another quad refugee will make his first start in SSV machinery, Manuel Andujar, last year’s quad winner, has joined South Racing Can-Am, alongside navigator Bernardo Graue, who previously co-drove with Sebastian Halpern at X-raid.
Although in the older-spec Maverick, perennial SSV competitor Gerard Farres Guell should be in the mix as well.
The 432-strong entry for this year's Dakar will be as varied as ever
Entry breakdown
432 crew total
136 Bike crews
64 Ultimate crews (45 T1+, 2 T1.1, 17 T1.2)
54 Challenger crews
39 SSV crews
45 T5 Truck crews
95 Dakar Classic
Itinerary
Prologue: Bisha-Bisha (18 miles/29km) January 3
Stage 1: Bisha-Bisha (256 miles/412km) January 4
Stage 2: Bisha-Bisha (599 miles/965km) January 5-6*
Stage 3: Bisha-Al Henakiyah (308 miles/496km) January 7
Stage 4: Al Henakiya-AlUla (257 miles/415km) January 8
Stage 5: AlUla-Ha’il (265 miles/428km) January 9
Rest Day: Ha’il January 10
Stage 6: Ha’il-Al Duwadimi (376 miles/606km) January 11
Stage 7: Al Duwadimi-Al Duwadimi (298 miles/481km) January 12
Stage 8: Al Duwadimi-Riyadh (302 miles/487km) January 13
Stage 9: Riyadh-Haradh (221 miles/357km) January 14
Stage 10: Haradh-Shubaytah (73 miles/119km) January 15
Stage 11: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (173 miles/280km) January 16
Stage 12: Shubaytah-Shubaytah (83 miles/134km) January 17
* 48 Hour Chrono stage over two days
