YANBU: Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah looked set for a sixth Dakar title after the Dacia driver won Friday’s penultimate 12th stage in the Saudi Arabian desert and extended his lead to 15 minutes with 105km to go.
The stage victory was the 50th of the 55-year-old’s career, equaling the record in the automobile category held by Finnish rally great Ari Vatanen and French 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel.
The rally ends Saturday in front of the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
In the motorcycle category, American Ricky Brabec of Honda returned to the top of the standings after making a strategic decision on Thursday to move back and secure a better starting position.
“To win this stage and have a good lead now, it’s really incredible,” Al-Attiyah said after the 409 kilometers on rocks and sand left him on the brink of victory.
“You can lose everything today, but we did a good job. There’s one day left, but we have to be smart and really focused.”
Ford’s Nani Roma remained his closest rival, but the Spaniard’s eight-minute deficit widened after he broke his car’s front axle and lost a wheel.
His French teammate Romain Dumas came to Roma’s rescue at the finish of the stage, providing the necessary parts for the second-placed driver to continue on the link road and reach the night bivouac on time and without penalty.
Ford’s Mattias Ekström finished third overall, 23 minutes and 21 seconds behind the leader, while Dacia’s nine-time world rally champion Sébastien Loeb was fourth and ahead of Ford’s Carlos Sainz.
American Mitch Guthrie finished second on stage for Ford, while Australian Toby Price was third in Toyota.
Published in Dawn, January 17, 2026
