Dakar 2025 – Stage 2b: Sébastien Loeb makes up some of his delay, Rokas Baciuska claims the stage victory

This year, the Dakar pits several major manufacturers from the global automotive industry against each other. While Toyota and Mini have proven models that have participated in numerous Dakar rallies, Dacia’s Sandrider and Ford’s Raptor are experiencing their baptism of fire in the Saudi dunes.

When we look at the standings of this second stage, we realize that experience prevailed on the equipment side. With four Hilux in the top four positions, Toyota dominated the 48-hour race held on Sunday and Monday. It is even a triple win for Jean-Marc Fortin’s Overdrive Racing team with the stage victory for Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska.

Initially ranked fifth, just over nine minutes behind his teammate Yazeed Al Rajhi, the 25-year-old driver received a 12-minute time reduction related to a time loss during the refueling in the first part of this 48-hour chronometer. Baciuska thus becomes the first driver from his country to win a stage in the Dakar since Vaidotas Zala in 2020.

Another driver who stood out today is Sébastien Loeb. After encountering fan problems that caused them to lose over half an hour on the race leaders, the Frenchman and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin charged ahead and regained nearly a quarter of an hour on the leaders. The crew of the Dacia number 219 is now 6th overall, 19 minutes behind. Everything remains possible for the Franco-Belgian duo in the race for the final victory.

Finally, the troubles continued for Carlos Sainz who drove his damaged Raptor throughout the day. More than an hour and a half lost for the title holder over these two days of the stage.

The competitors will now leave the Bisha bivouac to head north towards Al Henakiyah, where bad weather has forced the organizers to shorten the third stage. It will cover 327 kilometers instead of the initially planned 496.

Stage 2 Ranking

Overall ranking