The Dacia Sandriders has finished the two-day Bisha-Bisha stage, a 967-kilometre extreme test of endurance for both car and crew, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger third in the overall ranking of the 2025 Dakar Rally.
Having completed 618 kilometres on Sunday, The Dacia Sandriders, which is contesting its first Dakar Rally, had a further 341 kilometres of varied terrain to negotiate against the clock this morning prior to reaching the Bivouac in Bisha, southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Second in the provisional classification at the overnight halt, Qatari Al-Attiyah and his French navigator Boulanger made light of their unfavourable advanced road position to finish the 48H Chrono stage in a time of 11h03m23s, the third fastest of the day.
As well as demonstrating the speed and reliability of the sustainably-fuelled Dacia Sandrider, which is equipped with BFGoodrich tyres, Al-Attiyah’s performance was a masterclass in tyre and mechanical preservation, while Boulanger’s navigational skills also proved pivotal on the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship season opener.
Forced to stop from an impressive second position on stage with an electronic issue after 409 kilometres of high-speed driving, Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin have been in fightback mode ever since. Taking advantage of running further down the stage order, the Franco-Belgian pairing returned to Bisha in sixth position having clawed back several minutes lost on Sunday.
Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno were in 27th prior to daybreak but went no further than the 729-kilometre mark due to a power steering problem. With their Dacia Sandrider requiring a more extensive repair, they started the return journey to the Bivouac in Bisha at 10h06 local time supported by their assistance truck. Every effort will be made by The Dacia Sandriders’ expert team of technicians to enable the Spaniards to restart on Stage 3 tomorrow (Tuesday).
DACIA STARS UNDER THE STARS DAKAR RALLY STYLE
The Dacia Sandriders reached Break Zone E prior to Sunday’s 17h00 curfew following 618 kilometres of competitive action. With no technical assistance available and few luxuries on offer, it was a back-to-basics night for the team’s three crews. But it wasn’t quite a night under the stars for competitors. Organisers provided a tent for self-assembly, sleeping bag and self-inflating mattress to each crew member. Six litres of water per person was also made available along with a ration pack consisting of muesli, crumble, soup, two meals, one energy bar, a mixture of hot drinks, one glass, a spoon and a self-heating food bag. Before tackling the remaining 341 timed kilometres of Stage 2, crews were required to take down their tents and return them along with all camping gear to an organiser representative.
PERFECT ‘PITSTOPS’ FROM THE DACIA SANDRIDERS
A ‘pitstop’ after 168 kilometres allowed running repairs to be made and fresh tyres fitted following a notably rocky section of Stage 2 as Team Principal Tiphanie Isnard explained: « It was good to see the drivers at the remote service without any damage. The team did a perfect job at the remote service, it was really crazy to see a proper ‘pitstop’ in a rally-raid. »
Cristina Gutiérrez, who is competing in the Ultimate category of the Dakar Rally for the first time, began Stage 2 at 07h22 local time on Sunday from fifth on the road. Rather than setting off immediately from the ‘pitstop’ area, the decision was taken for the Spaniard to wait for her team-mates to close up (Nasser Al-Attiyah started Stage 2 19th on the road at 07h55 with Sébastien Loeb following at 08h00 in 23rd). The move allowed The Dacia Sandriders to run in closer proximity for the remainder of Sunday.
« We decided to stop to group all the three drivers together as a proper teamwork, » said Isnard. « Big thanks to Cristina to accept this decision. »
KEY QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), driver, the Dacia Sandriders : « It was really not easy. We tried to manage every kilometre without any problem being so far from the team. Finally, we did a really good job, me and Édouard, and we take care of our car to bring it here again in the Bivouac. It’s a long rally so we learn a lot and we have a lot of data now on the Dacia Sandrider. But we work day by day, this is our target. »
Cristina Guierrez (Spain), driver, the Dacia Sandriders : « It was not an easy stage. Yesterday we were very happy with the teamwork that we have done, helping Seb and supporting the guys to take the finish in the best position. My second day was a little bit worse because we got out of the stage due to an issue in the steering rack. At the moment, it’s under investigation so we will see what happens but, like this, we can know if we need to reinforce the other two cars. At least we are here at the Bivouac and looking forward to Stage 3. »
Sébastien Loeb (France), driiver, the Dacia Sandriders : « It was a long and difficult stage. Yesterday we had an electrical problem and we had to stop for 37 minutes in the stage. So, from that point, we believed we would not be able to solve anything and would have to retire. Then, suddenly, with Pablo (Moreno) that helped us, we found a way to restart the car and, at the end, it worked really well and the car was really performing. We recovered a lot of the time, more than 20 minutes, and it’s better than we expected yesterday when I was thinking we would have to retire. But we are still in the game for the rally. Today I am happy, yesterday I was not. »
DAKAR RALLY PROVISIONAL STAGE 2 RESULTS
Bisha-Bisha
Stage distance: 967km Liaison distance: 91km Total distance: 1058km
3rd: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA), 11h03m23s
7th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 11h10m02s
DNF: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP)
DAKAR RALLY PROVISIONAL OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 2
3rd: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA), 15h51m44s
6th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 15h59m26s
TBC: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), TBC
DAKAR RALLY: THE BIG NUMBER
967: The Dakar Rally’s 48H Chrono stage covered 967 competitive kilometres.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 3, BISHA-AL HENAKIYAH, JANUARY 7
Competitors head north from Bisha towards Al Henakiyah to tackle a 496-kilometre stage on
Tuesday January 7. The route contains plenty of technical sections at the start and is expected to be fast-paced.
Stage distance: 496km Liaison distance: 349km Total distance: 845km