2025 Dakar Rally: Stage 1 Photo Gallery

Travelling south from Bisha, the air gets thinner and thinner as the road approaches 1,300 metres. The drop in oxygen levels is barely noticeable, but the landscape is no longer the same. Near the middle of the special, the entrants had their work cut out for them exploring the canyons and powering their way up rock-strewn sandy plateaus! The 412 km stage was a test of concentration and sand-surfing skills and, once again, no one was able to match the rock-solid Australian Daniel Sanders. The bushes on the course left a lot of frayed nerves, but Seth Quintero stayed as cool as a cucumber to bag the car special at age 22 and add another golden page to the annals of the rally. Meanwhile, the rest of the favourites bode their time ahead of the 48 h chrono stage.

Images copyright ASO, Red Bull, and KTM.