Watch daily extended highlights from the 2025 edition of the Dakar Rally each morning via our - plus a daily 15-minute mini recap and more from January 4 to January 18 (AEDT).
On a day when the main drama featured defending cars champion Carlos Sainz slipping nearly an hour off the pace after his vehicle flipped in the Saudi Arabian dunes, Sanders was leading American Brabec on the separate, near-1000km motorcycle route.
Having led by 2'04" going into the race's third day in Saudi Arabia, Sanders increased his virtual advantage over his Honda rival by as much as 40 seconds before racing finished in the early evening.
Motswana Ross Branch is 5’59” back from Sanders in third, with Tosha Schareina (8’17”) and Skyler Howes rounding out the top five that will now spend the night in camp E.
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Dakar Rally 2025
series • motorsport
series • motorsport
Riders will not have any service from their respective team mechanics before the second part of the stage resumes, leaving every man for himself to recover and repair before embarking on the journey back to Bisha.
Fellow Australian Toby Price, meanwhile, had a better day on four wheels, rising from 12th to seventh in the overall standings after rectifying the electrical issues that had previously plagued his Toyota.
Price, together with British navigator Sam Sunderland, had an encouraging start to the second stage and reached the overnight check point with the 12th-fastest time.
Current cars leader Seth Quintero set up camp just 31 metres away from Price, though Sainz remains further adrift of the competition after finishing the day outside the top 20 after his Ford Raptor rolled over at the 327-kilometre mark.
In the Rally 2 category, Australian Toby Hederics had a good day on the dunes, completing over 500 kilometres before stopping at campsite D in 14th position for the stage and 30th outright.
Compatriot Andrew Houlihan covered over 400 kilometres in the latest chapter of his Malle Moto campaign, clocking through the last known checkpoint in 74th place in Rally 2 and 95th outright.
And brothers Peter and Christopher Schey had another drama-filled day in the Classic category after an issue with the hub lock of their Nissan Terrano forced them to complete the first half of the Chrono in rear-wheel drive.
The duo managed to finish the day in 33rd place before using their final hour to repair the hub lock at the bivouac, where all vehicles are locked up ahead of the second stage’s resumption the following morning.
