Dakar Rally Stage 3: Variawa wins in cars, Santolino on Bikes

Toyota driver Saood Variawa has won Stage 3 in the car category for the 2025 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

19-year-old South African Saood Variawa won his first special on the Dakar by 23s ahead of Guerlain Chicherit and 45s in front of Guillaume de Mévius, both of whom made plenty of ground up on the second half of the special.

Dakar king Nasser Al Attiyah has regained 3m57s on Henk Lategan in the general rankings and is now 7’17’’ behind his South African rival who still leads.

Rokas Baciuška, who opened the way after picking up his first stage victory yesterday, has lost more than 13 minutes to his Qatari rival.

Having rolled his car after 12 km, Sébastien Loeb (Pictured) got his Dacia going again but he is now far behind.

😱 Here is how @SebastienLoeb and @FabianLurquin crashed earlier on Stage 3. Fortunately they managed to get back on track. 🚘

🎥 @KSAF_SAMF
#Dakar2025 #DakarInSaudi pic.twitter.com/xu7uePOpjR

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 7, 2025

Having rolled his Ford the day before, Carlos Sainz Sr. was forced out of Dakar Rally due to damaged a car.

Sainz’s car rolled over and landed on its roof after a dune jump 327km into Sunday’s test near Bisha in Saudi Arabia. Although the Spaniard was able to return to the bivouac and finish the stage on Monday, the FIA conducted checks on his car later in the evening to determine whether he can take part in the remainder of the event.

Following the investigation, the technical stewards decided that Sainz cannot continue any further due to damage to the car’s roll cage structure.

“Due to the damage sustained to the safety cage of vehicle #225 [Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz] during the accident in the first part of the 48-hour stage of the Dakar Rally 2025 and in accordance with FIA regulations, it has been decided to withdraw the vehicle,” a Ford statement said.

Bikes

Lorenzo Santolino has won the day’s special. Bradley Cox received a 6-minute penalty for going over the speed limit during the Special. The South African, whose pace was quick from the very start, drops to 11th position on the special, allowing Ricky Brabec to take second place and Skyler Howes to climb onto the third step of the day’s podium.

The Spaniard has picked up his first stage victory on the Dakar and the 6th for Sherco since Mickael Metge tasted success in 2019 in Pisco.

It is the French brand’s first stage win in Saudi Arabia.

2025 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Results – Cars

2025 Dakar Rally Overall Standings – Cars

2025 Dakar Rally Stage 3 Results – Bikes

2025 Dakar Rally Overall Standings – Bikes