Daniel Sanders has held onto his nine-minute lead over Spaniard Tosha Schareina in the 12th and final stage of the Dakar Rally to win the bikes category of the event in Shubaytah overnight.

Daniel Sanders has raced into the history books, becoming only the second Australian to triumph at the Dakar Rally.

Daniel Sanders crowned 2025 Dakar Rally Champion with an almost nine-minute lead over Tosh Schareina, Adrien Van Beveren

Daniel Sanders has claimed his maiden Dakar Rally title with a commanding start-to-finish performance, leading every stage of the gruelling 12-day event and becoming only the second Australian, after Toby Price,

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.

SHUBAYTAH, SAUDI ARABIA (Reuters) -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.

Henk Lategan and Daniel Sanders held their leads when the Dakar Rally resumed on Saturday while admitting not wanting to push too hard before tougher stages to the finish in the Saudi desert.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi to win the Dakar Rally when he completed the race on home sand on Friday. After 13 days of desert racing and more than 5,000 kilometers of specials, Al-Rajhi beat home Henk Lategan of South Africa by less than four minutes,

The 2025 Dakar Rally concluded on Friday, with Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al Rajhi in cars and Australia's Daniel Sanders in bikes being crowned champions. Lucas Moraes in cars and Michael Docherty in bikes won the 61-kilometer 12th stage in Shubaytah.