DAKAR 2025

Michael Docherty makes history for South Africa in a Dakar 2025 that will be decided tomorrow

South African Michael Docherty has made history by winning the tenth stage of the Dakar 2025, achieving the first victory for his country 22 years after the last of the eight achieved by the legendary Alfie Cox, until now the only driver to have achieved victories for South Africa.

The favourites opted to cut the throttle in the final stretch of the short special to start behind in tomorrow's decisive stage, which Australian Daniel Sanders will start with a lead of 16:31 over the Spaniard Tosha Schareina and 22:24 over the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren.

The truth is that there was not much to tell in the penultimate stage of this Dakar 2025. A special of just 115 kilometres between Haradh and Subaytah where the distances were ridiculous and in which, to top it all off, the favourites had as a priority to finish in the furthest possible position.

This explains why the three drivers occupying the provisional podium positions, as well as the American Ricky Brabec, gave up around seven minutes in the last of the three stages of the day and came out of the top 10, giving all the prominence of the stage to less usual drivers.

Taking advantage of the fact that there is absolutely nothing at stake in the general classification, Michael Docherty went out with fire to try to show off his devilish speed, and boy did he do it: he took the victory with a time of 2 hours and 3 seconds to beat the Portuguese Rui Gonçalves by 1:20, the only one who managed to be faster than the South African in one of the sections.

Rui Gonçalves has come close to opening his list of victories at the Dakar 2025 (image above)

The Austrian Tobias Ebster also shone with third position, two minutes behind, with the veteran Slovak Stefan Svitko, the Spanish rookie Edgar Canet and the American Skyler Howes, the best placed of the favourites today, already more than five minutes behind. Lithuanian Arunas Gelazninkas, a two-time winner in Original, made history by putting the new Hoto in seventh place, ahead of Frenchman Benjamin Melot, who despite competing in the category without assistance has made it into the top 10 ahead of his compatriot Mathieu Doveze - who is already in Dakar Experience - and Slovenian Toni Mulec.

Daniel Sanders was eleventh, just over eight minutes behind the winner; with Ricky Brabec 13th, more than nine behind; Tosha Schareina 17th and Adrien Van Beveren 19th, more than ten behind; so all of them will have a great starting position tomorrow. The one who did not have a good day was Lorenzo Santolino, who lost almost an hour and dropped to 16th position in the general classification.

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