Dakar Rally Stage 8: Lategan wins in Cars, Benavides on Bikes
Factory Toyota driver Henk Lategan has won stage 8 of the 2025 Dakar Rally in Riyadh, the place where he picked up his first victory in the Dakar in 2022. By winning, he extended his overall lead to 5m41s.
It was the South African’s third success of the year after the prologue, and Stage 5, but his consistency has kept him in the lead overall.
Guy Botterill, who was battling for victory until 442 km, lost time in the home stretch and finished 1’47’’ behind his countryman despite Lategan receiving a 2-minute penalty at the finishing line on the special for speeding.
Brian Baragwanath (Century) was fourth ahead of Ford’s Nani Roma and Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota).
Bikes
UPDATE: The time spent by Luciano Benavides and Adrien Van Beveren assisting Pablo Quintanilla has just been recredited to the two riders.
The Argentinean has won the day’s special with a lead of 2m08s’ over the Frenchman. In the end, Tosha Schareina has finished 3rd, 2m14s’ behind Benavides, ahead of 4th-placed Ricky Brabec, 4m21s’ back, and Skyler Howes, in 5th, 4m59s down.
General rankings leader Daniel Sanders, completed the stage in 7th 6m44s’ behind Benavides.
Today marks Luciano Benavides’ fourth stage victory on the Dakar after his three successes in 2023 and his first behind the handlebars of an orange KTM, because at the time he rode a Husqvarna.
He has equalled Spaniard Oscar Gallardo and Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, as well as Frenchman Jean-Michel Baron and Antoine Meo.
Only his brother Kevin, who has won 10 specials, has a better record among the Argentinians on a bike. This is KTM’s 6th success on the 2025 edition and the 241st of in its history.
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Luciano Benavides looks set to be declared the winner of Stage 8 in the Bike Category of the Dakar Rally.
The exact time recredited to Benavides and Adrien Van Beveren for stopping to assist Pablo Quintanilla after his fall will be revealed on their arrival at the bivouac in Riyadh, but it looks like the Argentinean is set to win.
This result will be confirmed when the riders GPS data has been recovered.
2025 Dakar Rally Stage 8 Results – Cars Top-10
| Pos. | No. | Drive-Team | Team | Time | Behind | Penalty |
| 1 | 211 | (zaf) HENK LATEGAN (zaf) BRETT CUMMINGS | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 04h 51m 54s | 00h 02m 00s | |
| 2 | 205 | (zaf) GUY DAVID BOTTERILL (zaf) DENNIS MURPHY | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 04h 53m 41s | + 00h 01m 47s | |
| 3 | 209 | (fra) MATHIEU SERRADORI (fra) LOIC MINAUDIER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 04h 55m 58s | + 00h 04m 04s | |
| 4 | 214 | (zaf) BRIAN BARAGWANATH (zaf) LEONARD CREMER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 04h 56m 03s | + 00h 04m 09s | |
| 5 | 227 | (esp) NANI ROMA (esp) ALEX HARO | FORD M-SPORT | 04h 57m 11s | + 00h 05m 17s | |
| 6 | 201 | (sau) YAZEED AL RAJHI (deu) TIMO GOTTSCHALK | OVERDRIVE RACING | 04h 57m 14s | + 00h 05m 20s | |
| 7 | 221 | (cze) MARTIN PROKOP (cze) VIKTOR CHYTKA | ORLEN JIPOCAR TEAM | 04h 58m 13s | + 00h 06m 19s | |
| 8 | 240 | (prt) JOAO FERREIRA (prt) FILIPE PALMEIRO | X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM | 04h 58m 36s | + 00h 06m 42s | |
| 9 | 210 | (ltu) ROKAS BACIUSKA (esp) ORIOL MENA | OVERDRIVE RACING | 04h 58m 38s | + 00h 06m 44s | |
| 10 | 204 | (usa) SETH QUINTERO (deu) DENNIS ZENZ | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 05h 00m 16s | + 00h 08m 22s |
2025 Dakar Rally Overall Standings after Stage 8 – Cars Top-10
| Pos. | No. | Drive-Team | Team | Time | Behind | Penalty |
| 1 | 211 | (zaf) HENK LATEGAN (zaf) BRETT CUMMINGS | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 42h 05m 02s | 00h 02m 00s | |
| 2 | 201 | (sau) YAZEED AL RAJHI (deu) TIMO GOTTSCHALK | OVERDRIVE RACING | 42h 10m 43s | + 00h 05m 41s | 00h 04m 00s |
| 3 | 226 | (swe) MATTIAS EKSTRÖM (swe) EMIL BERGKVIST | FORD M-SPORT | 42h 33m 57s | + 00h 28m 55s | 00h 01m 00s |
| 4 | 200 | (qat) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (fra) EDOUARD BOULANGER | THE DACIA SANDRIDERS | 42h 39m 16s | + 00h 34m 14s | 00h 17m 00s |
| 5 | 228 | (usa) MITCHELL GUTHRIE (usa) KELLON WALCH | FORD M-SPORT | 43h 00m 41s | + 00h 55m 39s | 00h 09m 00s |
| 6 | 209 | (fra) MATHIEU SERRADORI (fra) LOIC MINAUDIER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 43h 03m 26s | + 00h 58m 24s | 00h 03m 20s |
| 7 | 216 | (arg) JUAN CRUZ YACOPINI (esp) DANIEL OLIVERAS | OVERDRIVE RACING | 43h 37m 13s | + 01h 32m 11s | 00h 04m 00s |
| 8 | 204 | (usa) SETH QUINTERO (deu) DENNIS ZENZ | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 43h 41m 56s | + 01h 36m 54s | |
| 9 | 240 | (prt) JOAO FERREIRA (prt) FILIPE PALMEIRO | X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM | 44h 10m 09s | + 02h 05m 07s | 00h 08m 00s |
| 10 | 214 | (zaf) BRIAN BARAGWANATH (zaf) LEONARD CREMER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 44h 16m 49s | + 02h 11m 47s | 00h 10m 00s |
2025 Dakar Rally Stage 8 Results – Bikes Top-10
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Time | Behind | Penalty |
| 1 | 77 | (arg) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04h 50′ 46” | ||
| 2 | 42 | (fra) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 04h 52′ 54” | + 00h 02′ 08” | |
| 3 | 68 | (esp) TOSHA SCHAREINA | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 04h 53′ 00” | + 00h 02′ 14” | |
| 4 | 9 | (usa) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 04h 55′ 07” | + 00h 04′ 21” | |
| 5 | 10 | (usa) SKYLER HOWES | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 04h 55′ 45” | + 00h 04′ 59” | |
| 6 | 22 | (zaf) MICHAEL DOCHERTY | BAS world KTM racing team | 04h 57′ 14” | + 00h 06′ 28” | |
| 7 | 4 | (aus) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04h 57′ 30” | + 00h 06′ 44” | 00h 01′ 00” |
| 8 | 73 | (esp) EDGAR CANET | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04h 57′ 57” | + 00h 07′ 11” | |
| 9 | 11 | (chl) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 04h 58′ 19” | + 00h 07′ 33” | |
| 10 | 19 | (prt) RUI GONÇALVES | SHERCO RALLY FACTORY | 05h 04′ 59” | + 00h 14′ 13” |
2025 Dakar Rally Overall Standings after Stage 8 – Bikes Top-10
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Time | Behind | Penalty |
| 1 | 4 | (aus) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 44h 26′ 52” | 00h 01′ 00” | |
| 2 | 68 | (esp) TOSHA SCHAREINA | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 44h 37′ 55” | + 00h 11′ 03” | |
| 3 | 42 | (fra) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 44h 48′ 23” | + 00h 21′ 31” | 00h 02′ 00” |
| 4 | 77 | (arg) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 44h 57′ 40” | + 00h 30′ 48” | 00h 02′ 00” |
| 5 | 9 | (usa) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 44h 57′ 48” | + 00h 30′ 56” | |
| 6 | 10 | (usa) SKYLER HOWES | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 45h 03′ 55” | + 00h 37′ 03” | |
| 7 | 11 | (chl) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 45h 20′ 24” | + 00h 53′ 32” | 00h 02′ 00” |
| 8 | 73 | (esp) EDGAR CANET | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 45h 47′ 54” | + 01h 21′ 02” | 00h 06′ 10” |
| 9 | 96 | (aut) TOBIAS EBSTER | BAS world KTM racing team | 46h 19′ 05” | + 01h 52′ 13” | |
| 10 | 142 | (svk) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 46h 24′ 33” | + 01h 57′ 41” | 00h 01′ 00” |