Carlos Sainz felt that his rollover in the second stage of the Dakar Rally in 2025 was a setback he could overcome. They were also of the same opinion at Ford, where the engineers did not believe that the damage to the safety bars represented a real risk to the drivers and were trying to convince the stewards of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to continue in the race. They had lost an hour and a half to the leaders on the third day of the rally, but they were confident in the toughness and constant script changes of the race to come back. The progress of the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was more than an hour behind the leader Hank Lategan (Toyota) and is now fourth overall at 35 minutes, confirms the Madrid native and another of his great rivals, the Frenchman. Sebastien Loeb.
“It made me very angry, we could have continued. The way the race is going, with tremendous differences, with many movements, I think we had options to do something good. Mistakes are paid for, and I have paid for it by three millimeters,” said the four-time winner of the rally upon his return to Madrid, where after a medical examination he confirmed that he does not suffer serious injuries and is already beginning to plan his return to the event in 2026. The small deformation in the chassis of his Raptor T1+ forced him to abandon his defense of the crown, and the FIA did not give in. For the same reason, Laia Sanz (Century) and Loeb two days later said goodbye two days before. The rules are the rules, period, they were used at all times by the organization.
“The commissioners are strict. In our case it was three millimeters, a bar that the team guaranteed could be repaired. In a race where rollovers are likely, perhaps it is excessive. It is a debate that will come later and the teams will open it,” he added in reference to the FIA regulations. Loeb, nine-time world rally champion, also criticized the organization and its technicians. “The decision of the commissioners is difficult to digest. Safety is very important, of course, but the line they have drawn here does not seem appropriate for our discipline, where we race in extreme conditions. We were an hour and a quarter away, but there was still nothing lost,” lamented the Frenchman. Both Dacia and Ford argued that they had the tools to repair and ensure the safety of the roll cage, and the French team attempted to appeal the decision without success.
“It has been the same rule in all championships for many years, for decades, you cannot continue if the roll cage is damaged,” commented Jérome Roussel, director of cross-country races for the international federation, during the rest day. in Hail, in the north of the country. “Security is something that cannot be compromised. Although the manufacturer says that they consider the cage safe, it is not an argument. It is never the manufacturer that will certify the safety bars itself. It is done by a third party that is independent. And that’s what these rules are for,” defended the head of the FIA in statements collected by ACE.
Al-Attiyah, who usually attacks his rivals mercilessly, took the side of Sainz and Loeb on this occasion. “What happened to Seb and Carlos is disappointing. They should continue. The factories are very involved with the Dakar, they spend millions and we need all the cars to be there. Having them out of the rally is not good,” commented the five-time winner of the event, the only one among the big favorites who is still in contention. The matter has taken on such a stir that even the president of the FIA, Mohammed bin Sulayem, has spoken out on the matter: “The job of the stewards is to make the event fair and equal for everyone. If we talk about security, the commissioners have the last word. Safety always comes first, and Carlos knows it very well. But it is normal that he is disappointed, I understand him,” commented the Emirati president. “We have to work to preserve the spirit of adventure of the Dakar, and if we can adjust the regulations without compromising safety we will do so,” he added.
Digital tablets bother motorcycles
Despite the toughness of a first week with two days without assistance from the teams, only 11% of the vehicles that started in Bisha have been forced to abandon the test. If we add to this data the 81 participants who have been able to rejoin the race after failing to complete some of the stages and are no longer competing for the general classification, we are talking about a third of the competitors who are offside. “In my 18 Dakars I have never seen such a powerful start week,” said Sainz. Also in the spotlight is David Castera, director of the test. The former French driver had warned that it would be a very complicated edition, with hardly any time to recover the physicality of the drivers and the mechanics of the vehicles throughout a first week with a double portion of marathon stages.
Believe it or not, there are still a little more than half of the kilometers of specials to be competed (more than 2,500), in a second week that features an open race for motorcycles and cars. The closing with three days in the dunes of the Rub al Khali desert, one of the most remote places on the planet, promises strong emotions in a race that has, at this point, only one Spanish candidate. Tosha Schareina, a 29-year-old Honda rider, will start the second week 15 minutes behind the leader, KTM’s Australian Daniel Sanders.
The rival to beat so far in the test took a victory with the bikes stopped this Friday. The International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) returned the 8-minute penalty for exceeding the speed limits. The reason is that the digital tablet that replaces the traditional paper route book failed again in the middle of the race, leaving him blind to dangers on the road and areas with speed restrictions. The problem has affected several pilots at different stages, an issue that has provoked criticism of ASO and the company contracted to manage these devices, another melon that the Dakar will have to solve in the future.
