A “bittersweet” finish to the Dakar Rally saw Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings record an historic second place in the what is often described as the world’s toughest race on Friday.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi is set to win the Dakar Rally on home soil in the Saudi desert after retaking the lead from South Africa’s Henk Lategan on Thursday.

Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day.

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan regained the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday with a two minutes and 27 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi going into the penultimate stage.

Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi has taken advantage of a miserable stage by Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert.

South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage on Monday.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi opened up a commanding overall lead of six minutes and 11 seconds over second-placed Henk Lategan in the Dakar Rally, after the South African, who led by over two minutes before Thursday,

Henk Lategan’s lead of the Dakar Rally melted to 21 seconds after a chaotic seventh stage for timings in the Saudi desert on Sunday.

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.