Today’s seventh stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally had it all: challenging navigation, a mix of fast and technical sections, and racing in mountainous terrain. Aliyyah Koloc, the youngest woman in the Ultimate category, handled the stage with confidence, running as high as 10th during the stage.
Her final position of 24th in today’s stage was due to an error in the roadbook which caused many drivers to lose their way. Subsequently, the organizers annulled 20 kilometers of that part of the stage, impacting the final rankings. Despite these challenges, the Buggyra ZM Racing crew in their Red-Lined REVO T1+ navigated the obstacles successfully.
« Today was really tough. We started very early, but it’s nice to finish while it’s still light. It was a mix of everything today: dunes, sand, rocks. In the beginning, we weren’t too confident about the tire pressure. We increased it to avoid a puncture which caused us to lose a bit of time in the sand due to higher pressure. Butt after that, it was mostly fast. Overall, I’m really happy with how we finished. I think it’s our best result ever, » said Aliyyah Koloc.
Thanks to the 20-year-old’s driving performance and fighting spirit, especially in the tough conditions of the mountainous terrain, both Aliyyah and her co-driver, Sébastien Delaunay, demonstrated their ability to tackle the demanding challenges of the Dakar Rally.
The crew moved up to 29th place in the overall standings of the Ultimate class. Tomorrow’s eighth stage will run from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh and cover a total of 737 kilometers of which 487 kilometers are time stages.