Rally Raid
The key competitors and vehicles chasing glory at the 2025 Dakar Rally
Watch out for brand-new vehicles making their Dakar Rally debut in 2025. These fresh rides join a convoy of fearless competitors taking on the two-week challenge across the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
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Rally’s ultimate test of endurance returns with the 2025 Dakar. The 47th running of the desert classic features extra intrigue as brand-new cars from Ford and Dacia join the hunt for glory.
It’s the sixth edition of the Dakar Rally to take place on the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia. There’s a fleet of new machines plus plenty of rookies in the convoy, but the toughness of the task remains the same as always.
Racing starts on January 3 with a Prologue Stage in Bisha. Then come 12 desert stages spread over 14 days, covering thousands of kilometres. The route of the 2025 Dakar Rally includes the traditional marathon stage in addition to the 48h chrono, plus a three-day adventure in the Empty Quarter Desert to wrap things up.
Only the bravest and best will witness the chequered flag flying in Shubaytah on January 17, when Dakar’s winners will be crowned.
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Ultimate Class
Ford Performance
Reigning Ultimate class champion Carlos Sainz heads back to Saudi Arabia to defend his title behind the wheel of the all-new Ford Raptor T1+. The 62-year-old Spaniard has vowed to “use all my experience to guide this new team” as he chases a fifth Dakar win with a fifth different manufacturer. Once again, Sainz will be joined by four-time Dakar-winning co-driver Lucas Cruz. “I’m really excited to be driving the Raptor truck and to approach this big challenge with a lot of goals,” Sainz admitted. “One [goal] is to help Ford win the Dakar Rally.”
Carlos Sainz races his Ford Raptor T1+ in Morocco
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
I’m really excited to be driving the Raptor truck and to approach this big challenge
Mitch Guthrie Jr. has also been given the keys to a V-8-powered Ford Raptor T1+ to race the next Dakar. The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team graduate gets his shot at the Dakar’s elite car race after impressing in the Challenger class, including a runners-up result last time out. Guthrie will race alongside co-driver Kellon Walch in an all-American crew representing Ford.
Sweden’s Mattias Ekström joins Sainz in switching from Team Audi Sport to Ford Performance for this latest trip to Saudi Arabia. Former World Rallycross and DTM champion Ekström has proven his speed in the dunes with stage wins on his previous attempts at the Dakar’s Ultimate class. Ekström will have fellow Swede Emil Bergkvist reading the roadbook.
Completing Ford Performance’s driver line-up is Nani Roma, a former Dakar winner on two and four wheels. Roma adds a wealth of experience and a winning mentality to the Ford’s Raptor T1+ package. Roma’s compatriot Alex Haro will co-drive. The Spanish duo’s best result together was a runner-up finish at the last South American Dakar.
Dacia Sandriders
Also bringing a brand-new car in the Dakar bivouac in 2025 are Dacia, with their own formidable line-up of drivers. Leading the charge for Dacia at the 12-stage rally is sand racing specialist Nasser Al-Attiyah, a five-time Dakar winner. Al-Attiyah and co-driver Edouard Boulanger warmed up for the Dakar with victory at the Rallye du Maroc on their debut drive for Dacia. “We couldn’t ask for better than victory in our first race with Dacia,” Al-Attiyah commented. “We will continue the development of the Sandrider to arrive at the Dakar in top shape.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah introduces his Dacia Sandrider to the dunes
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
We will continue the development of the Sandrider to arrive at the Dakar in top shape
There’s a promotion from the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team to the Dacia Sandriders for Cristina Gutiérrez. The Spaniard became the Dakar’s second-ever female winner when she took first place in the Challenger category last time out. Cristina returns to the elite car division after four finishes behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi before switching to Challenger class. Fellow Spaniard Pablo Moreno will once again be riding shotgun.
Completing Dacia’s stellar line-up of drivers is nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb. The Frenchman is chasing an elusive Dakar win following three runner-up results and a further pair of third-place finishes. Loeb takes charge of his own V6 twin-turbo, direct injection Dacia Sandrider with Fabian Lurquin giving out the pacenotes.
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Twenty-two-year-old Seth Quintero gets a second outing in the Ultimate class with Toyota Gazoo Racing. The American made history at the 2022 Dakar by winning 12 of the 13 stages in the Challenger class. These days, it’s an overall win in the Dakar’s premier car class that’s the target for the Californian. Quintero will be joined in his Toyota GR DKR Hilux by co-driver Dennis Zenz as the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team graduates take on their fifth Dakar together.
Lucas Moraes wants many more Dakar podiums
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
If you want to summarise the Dakar then it’s really a trade of risk and reward
Also on a mission to return Toyota Gazoo Racing to winning ways at the Dakar is Lucas Moraes. The Brazilian scored a third-place finish on his Dakar debut and was rewarded with an invitation to drive the Hilux with its 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine. The three-time Rally dos Sertões winner will race in Saudi Arabia with co-driver Armand Monleon. “If you want to summarise the Dakar, then it’s really a trade of risk and reward,” Moraes explains.
Adding essential experience to the Toyota Gazoo Racing line-up is Giniel de Villiers. The South African has a total of seven podium finishes at the Dakar. For the latest trip to the desert, De Villiers links up with co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz as the winning duo from the 2009 Dakar Rally are reunited.
Toyota Overdrive
Former Dakar bike race winners Toby Price and Sam Sunderland have teamed up to race a Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+ in the Ultimate class. Price will drive, while fellow two-time Dakar champion Sam Sunderland will be his co-driver. Price has won the Finke Desert Race on four wheels in his native Australia, while Sunderland’s navigation skills have been proven time and time again at the Dakar. “Teaming up with Overdrive Racing in a T1+ Car is a dream come true,” Price said when announcing his next trip to the Dakar.
The Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+ regularly parks on the Dakar podium
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Teaming up with Overdrive Racing in a T1+ Car is a dream come true
X-raid
Guillaume De Mévius steered a Toyota Hilux Overdrive T1+ to second place in the Ultimate class last time out. Now, the Belgian has joined up with X-raid to drive their new MINI JCW Rally. De Mévius is the fourth Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver to have progressed to the Ultimate class, and he rides with four-time Dakar-winning co-driver Mathieu Baumel. “Third place overall at the Rallye du Maroc was a good start,” De Mévius explained. “The car was great, and the X-raid team did a great job.”
Guillaume de Mévius has been handed the keys to the new MINI
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Third place overall at the Rallye du Maroc was a good start. The car was great and the X-raid team did a great job
Laia Sanz will be on the start line looking to maintain her impressive feat of finishing all 15 editions of the Dakar that she has entered. The Spaniard was the Dakar’s fastest female on two wheels for an incredible 11 consecutive years. Then came the switch to four wheels, and last time out, she clocked her best-ever Ultimate class finish of 15th overall. Joining Sanz in car #223 will be co-driver Maurizio Gerini. “The objective is to enjoy the rally,” Sanz reveals. “If we’re enjoying the rally, it means we’re keeping a good pace."
Laia Sanz, Dania Akeel and Cristina Gutiérrez
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
If we’re enjoying the rally it means we’re keeping a good pace
02
Challenger Class
Rokas Baciuška has finished on the podium three times at the Dakar in the lightweight divisions but is yet to taste outright victory. That’s something he’s out to put right when he takes on the Challenger class in his Can-Am Maverick. Baciuška arrives in Saudi Arabia as the W2RC Challenger class champion, with Oriol Mena taking over co-driving duties from the injured Oriol Vidal. “In 2024, we won the World Championship, and now we’re ready for the 2025 Dakar Rally.” Baciuška said.
Rokas Baciuška showed championship-winning speed in 2024
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
In 2024 we won the World Championship and now we’re ready for the 2025 Dakar Rally
Saudi Arabian driver Dania Akeel knows the deserts of the Dakar better than most. The local favourite scored an outstanding Top 10 finish on her Dakar debut in the Challenger class. Since then she’s raised her own expectations and further impressed during the W2RC season. Akeel has ambitions to race in the Dakar’s Ultimate class, but for now, she has unfinished business in the Challenger race alongside co-driver Stéphane Duple.
Dania Akeel can always count on local support at the Dakar Rally
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López is now contesting his second decade at the Dakar after the rally relocated to the Saudi dunes. The Chilean – an icon in his home country – was a headliner in the days of the Dakar in South America. Now, with three titles across the Challenger and T4 categories to his name, he feels right at home in the desert. He returns to the dunes in 2025, aiming for even more success in the Lightweight Vehicle divisions.
Get an inside look at Dakar Rally
03
Bike Class
Two-time Bike race winner Kevin Benavides is set to spearhead the charge of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in Saudi Arabia. The Argentinian biker has spent the second half of 2024 recovering from injury and is doing all he can to bring his KTM 450 Rally to the January 3 start line in Bisha. In 2022, Kevin Benavides delivered KTM their first Dakar win since the rally’s relocation to the Middle East.
Joining his older brother Kevin in the ranks of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is Luciano Benavides. Luciano’s career highlight so far was his W2RC title in 2023 and his best result at the Dakar is sixth place overall. Luciano Benavides has been recalled by KTM after three successful years racing with Husqvarna.
I’m super-pumped to be back on form with a win at Rallye du Maroc and showing good speed ahead of Dakar
After Daniel Sanders grew up on an apple farm in rural Australia, it was at the International Six Days Enduro that his racing career really started to bear fruit. After helping Team Australia to the ISDE’s World Trophy, he got the chance to ride his first Dakar Rally. A blistering start to his Dakar career saw Sanders place as best rookie on his debut, and now he’s chasing down the win with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. “I’m super-pumped to be back on form with a win at Rallye du Maroc and showing good speed ahead of Dakar,” Sanders said after his recent victory in Morocco.
Harith Noah has experienced the entire rollercoaster of emotions that the Dakar has to offer. At the 2023 Dakar, the Indian rider crashed on Stage 4 and suffered a fractured vertebra. Harith returned to Dakar 12 months later and won the Rally2 contest, a hotly contested prize between up-and-coming riders. Now, the Sherco TVS Rally Factory rider has his sights set even higher.
Harith Noah is the first Indian athlete to win a Dakar Rally trophy
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
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Don't miss the 2025 Dakar Rally
The Dakar’s sixth edition in Saudi Arabia gets started on January 3 with thrills and spills to come as the convoy races towards the January 17 finish line. Thousands upon thousands of kilometres spread across 12 timed special stages start from Bisha and conclude in the heart of the Empty Quarter Desert. The toughest rally on the planet is about to show us once again how it built its infamous reputation.
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