Aliyyah Koloc finishes the Dakar as the fastest woman in the Ultimate category in 35th overall

It was a tough event for 20-year-old Aliyyah Koloc. Her third Dakar, and her second one in the Ultimate category, the Dakar’s top class, was marked by technical issues but also by fighting spirit and her best result ever on stage 10 in 9th position. Aliyyah and her French navigator Sébastian Delaunay finished the 2025 Dakar in 35th position overall, despite a string of technical issues in today’s final stage.

Stage 12, the final stage of this year’s Dakar, was only 61 kilometers around Shubaytah but it turned out to be one of the most difficult ones of the two weeks for Aliyyah Koloc and her navigator Sébastian Delaunay. « The last stage was pretty brutal. I thought it would be an easier day like stage 10 that I really enjoyed with the flowy dunes. I did enjoy them until 20 kilometers before the finish when the triangle on my rear arm broke, » Aliyyah explained the start of the stage.

The repairs took a long time but Aliyyah and Sébastian finally managed to get the car back on track. However, only a couple of kilometers later, the car felt strange again. « We checked and saw that the wheel hub had cracked and had started to smolder. So we had to replace the wheel hub as well. Plus, the rear brakes were literally fried. So we could only use the front brakes and had to lock the differential, » Aliyyah described her eventful stage.

Luckily, for Aliyyah and her navigator there were no big dunes during the last 15 kilometers, so they managed to navigate them, even though sometimes they had to go around as they didn’t have power on all wheels. « The last 20 kilometers were difficult but we finally made it to the finish! » Aliyyah said relieved.

Despite finishing 48th today’s stage, the 20-year-old Dubai-born and her French navigator brought home an excellent 35th place overall in the Ultimate category. In addition, Aliyyah is the fastest woman in the Ultimate category of the 2025 Dakar.

PUBLICITÉ