Toyota was the manufacturer to beat in Dakar on Tuesday as Variawa scored the stage win and Lategan led overall

Lithuanian driver Rokas Baciuška has proved he’s a contender in the Dakar Rally after winning the longest stage in the Saudi Arabia desert.

Dakar Rally drivers and riders recount Stage 2 of the event, where competitors took two days to traverse nearly 1000 km.

Defender will field a works team in the Dakar Rally from 2026, as part of a three-year programme that will also see the brand enter the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). Two Defender entries will compete in all five rounds of the W2RC from next year. Additionally, a third car will compete in the Dakar Rally – the championship’s halo event.

Carlos Sainz's Dakar Rally ended on Monday after the defending champion's damaged Ford Raptor was ruled out after just two stages of the gruelling two-week race in the Saudi Arabian desert.

Carlos Sainz's defence of his Dakar Rally title ended prematurely on Monday when the Spaniard was forced to pull out after the marathon 48-hour stage won by Lithuanian driver Rokas Baciuska."It's the end of the adventure for four-time Dakar winner and defending champion Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz.

After Sainz, Loeb also takes a big hit to his car in what is proving to be one of the toughest Dakar events in recent history

Local favourite Yazeed Al-Rajhi won the 48-hour second stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Monday, despite a penalty for speeding, as South African Henk Lategan took the overall lead for the factory Toyota team.

Defending champion Carlos Sainz Sr has been forced to withdraw from the Dakar Rally 2025 after a big crash on the second stage of the event left his car with irreparable damage. Sainz, the father of four-time grand prix winner and F1 2025 Williams star Carlos Sainz Jr,