AL HENAKIYAH, Saudi Arabia — On Tuesday, 19-year-old Saood Variawa from South Africa made history by becoming the youngest driver to win a stage in the prestigious Dakar Rally. This remarkable achievement broke the former record of 22 years, set just a few days earlier by American driver Seth Quintero. Both athletes are competing in the demanding car category for the second time.
In the 327-kilometer (203-mile) third stage that traversed the Saudi desert from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, Variawa and Quintero battled closely with their Toyota teammate Lucas Moraes of Brazil. For an impressive stretch of around 200 kilometers, the trio remained separated by less than a minute. Moraes started strong but was overtaken by Quintero in the latter part of the stage. Ultimately, Variawa surged ahead in the final 60 kilometers, overcoming a late tire puncture with skill.
“I knew we were going really fast,” Variawa commented after his win. “There were many tricky spots that could have ended our race, so we had to be cautious. François (Cazalet, my co-driver) did an excellent job with the navigation, and we were hitting our marks consistently.”
After coming in third during the opening stage, where Quintero claimed victory, Variawa faced a setback on Monday due to a collision with fellow South African Giniel de Villiers, which cost him over eight hours. “This feels like a solid comeback,” he remarked.
In the same stage, Quintero finished third while Moraes placed ninth. Another South African driver, Henk Lategan, maintained his overall lead in 12th position. However, five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah managed to close in, cutting four minutes off his deficit to sit seven minutes behind. In third place, Mattias Ekstrom also made up ground, trailing by 9.5 minutes. Local competitor Yazeed Al Rajhi fell from second to fourth overall, partly due to incurring a four-minute penalty.
Defending champion Carlos Sainz was unable to continue the race after sustaining damage in a rollover incident on Sunday. He managed to finish the previous stage but the damage to his roll cage prevented further participation in the event. Sainz, who claimed his fourth Dakar title last year and participated in his 18th Dakar at age 62, faced disappointment this time around.
Another rally contender and multi-time champion, Sebastien Loeb, struggled to maintain his position in the race. Early on, he hit a rough patch and rolled his Dacia but was back on the road within five minutes. However, he subsequently broke a steering rod, relied on a rival for a spare part, and then encountered issues with his engine fan, which slowed him significantly. Loeb ultimately lost an hour and sits in 16th place overall. “Winning the rally is starting to seem quite complicated,” he admitted.
In the motorbike category, Daniel Sanders’ lead was significantly reduced, though it wasn’t as dire as expected. Following the stage, the Australian was awarded nearly five additional minutes due to a navigation program error. Consequently, he finished in 17th place instead of 22nd, and his overall lead shrank from almost 15 minutes to just under 10. Sanders’ advantage over Skyler Howes has also decreased to less than seven minutes, with Ross Branch trailing him by seven minutes and defending champion Ricky Brabec over nine minutes back.
Spanish rider Lorenzo Santolino claimed victory for the stage, marking the first success for the French brand Sherco in six years. Throughout the race, he primarily followed South Africa’s Bradley Cox, the son of former Dakar stage winner Alfie Cox. Santolino managed to pull ahead in the final 50 kilometers after Cox took a wrong turn, resulting in his demotion from second to 14th due to a six-minute speeding penalty. Brabec and Howes moved up to second and third place, respectively.
