Daniel Sanders put in a dominant performance on his factory KTM to claim a maiden victory in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. In one of the most one-sided bikes contests in recent history, Sanders led the bikes category from start-to-finish in the two-week marathon,

KTM’s Luciano Benavides finished the stage in seventh, followed by Hero’s lone rider, Nacho Cornejo. In the overall standings after stage 7 of the 2025 Dakar Rally, Sanders leads, followed by three Hondas — Schareina, Van Beveren, and defending champion Ricky Brabec.

Local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi secured his first Dakar title on Friday, finishing the 12-stage rally almost four minutes ahead of his closest competitor Henk Lategan, while Red Bull KTM's Daniel Sanders maintained his lead to win in the motorcycle category.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi has become the first Saudi to win the Dakar Rally after completing the race on home sand in Shubaytah.

Hear from Tosha Schareina, Adrien van Beveren, Sara Price, Mattias Ekstrom, Nasser Al-Attiyah, and many others following Stage 11 of the 2025 Dakar Rally.

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.