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Dakar Dakar

Sainz suffers rollover in crucial 48-hour Dakar stage

The defending champion’s hopes of taking another win in 2025 suffer a big blow

Mario Galan
Mario Galan
Edited:

Carlos Sainz Sr’s Ford rolled over in the first part of the Dakar Rally’s 48-hour stage on Sunday, leaving him stranded in the desert.

The four-time Dakar winner had started the second test of 2025 in eighth place but things went south for him just after midday in Bisha, Saudi Arabia.

According to information received by Motorsport.com, the Spaniard was navigating a sandy area at the exit of the dunes when his Ford Raptor was turned around in an accident. 

The incident occurred 327km into the near-1000km Stage 2, shortly after he had crossed the previous checkpoint in 15th place.

His Ford team-mate Mitch Guthrie Jr stopped on the route to provide assistance to Sainz.

A video captured by Dakar's organiser ASO showed the rear of the car having sustained heavy damage in the rollover.

More details of the crash are still awaited. 

 

The 62-year-old was eventually able to resume the rally after losing 23 minutes, but it's unclear how much damage he is carrying on his car.

Dacia's Nasser Al-Attiyah was leading Stage 2 after the 325km mark, having compromised his result on Saturday in order to secure a more favourable starting position for the 48-hour test.

More to follow

Photos from Dakar Rally Stage 2

#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr., Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#222 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Guillaume De Mevius, Mathieu Baumel

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#47 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Kevin Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz, crash

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#227 Ford M-Sport Ford: Nani Roma, Alex Haro

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#212 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Cristina Gutierrez, Pablo Moreno

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#210 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Rokas Baciuska, Oriol Mena

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#226 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mattias Ekström, Emil Bergkvist

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz, crash

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Boulanger Edouard

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz, crash

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#47 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Kevin Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz, crash

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#248 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Marcos Moraes, Maykel Justo

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr., Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#222 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Guillaume De Mevius, Mathieu Baumel

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#231 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Toby Price, Sam Sunderland

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#228 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mitchell Guthrie, Kellon Walch

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Boulanger Edouard

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#226 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mattias Ekström, Emil Bergkvist

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#206 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Giniel De Villiers, Dirk Von Zitzewitz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#227 Ford M-Sport Ford: Nani Roma, Alex Haro

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#305 Team BBR Taurus: Dania Akeel, Stephane Duple

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr., Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#222 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Guillaume De Mevius, Mathieu Baumel

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#203 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Lucas Moraes, Armand Monleon

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#231 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Toby Price, Sam Sunderland

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#228 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mitchell Guthrie, Kellon Walch

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#228 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mitchell Guthrie, Kellon Walch

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Boulanger Edouard

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Boulanger Edouard

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#206 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Giniel De Villiers, Dirk Von Zitzewitz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#210 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Rokas Baciuska, Oriol Mena

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#217 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Denis Krotov, Konstantin Zhiltsov

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#305 Team BBR Taurus: Dania Akeel, Stephane Duple

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#304 Team BBR Taurus: Pau Navarro, Lisandro Ezequiel Sisterna Herrera

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#404 Can-Am Factory Team Can-Am: Francisco Lopez Contardo, Juan Pablo Latrach

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#319 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team Taurus: Goncalo Guerreiro, Cadu Sachs

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#240 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Joao Ferreira, Filipe Palmeiro

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#39 Esprit KTM KTM: Benjamin Melot

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#400 Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing Polaris: Xavier De Soultrait, Martin Bonnet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#278 MD Rallye Sport MD: Jean Pierre Strugo, Christophe Crespo

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#278 MD Rallye Sport MD: Jean Pierre Strugo, Christophe Crespo

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#278 MD Rallye Sport MD: Jean Pierre Strugo, Christophe Crespo

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#304 Team BBR Taurus: Pau Navarro, Lisandro Ezequiel Sisterna Herrera

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#425 Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing Polaris: Brock Heger, Max Eddy

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#207 JLC Racing MD: Jean-Luc Ceccaldi, Delphine Delfino

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#237 Coronel Dakar Team Century: Tim Coronel, Tom Coronel

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
Atmosphere

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#237 Coronel Dakar Team Century: Tim Coronel, Tom Coronel

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#224 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Lionel Baud, Lucie Baud

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#240 X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini: Joao Ferreira, Filipe Palmeiro

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#400 Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing Polaris: Xavier De Soultrait, Martin Bonnet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#400 Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing Polaris: Xavier De Soultrait, Martin Bonnet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#231 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Toby Price

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr, Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#404 Can-Am Factory Team Can-Am: Francisco Lopez Contardo, Juan Pablo Latrach

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#211 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Henk Lategan, Brett Cummings

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#210 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Rokas Baciuska, Oriol Mena

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#206 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Giniel De Villiers, Dirk Von Zitzewitz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#200 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Boulanger Edouard, #219 The Dacia Sandriders Dacia: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr, Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr, Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#205 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Guy David Botterill, Dennis Murphy

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides, #4 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Daniel Sanders

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#204 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Seth Quintero, #226 Ford M-Sport Ford: Mattias Ekström

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#233 MD Rallye Sport MD: Simon Vitse, Max Delfino

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr., Lucas Cruz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz Sr.

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#218 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Saood Variawa, Francois Cazalet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#210 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Rokas Baciuska, Oriol Mena

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#206 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Giniel De Villiers, Dirk Von Zitzewitz

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#73 BAS World KTM Racing Team KTM: Edgar Canet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#73 BAS World KTM Racing Team KTM: Edgar Canet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#4 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Daniel Sanders

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#42 Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda: Adrien Van Beveren

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#77 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Luciano Benavides

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#218 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota: Saood Variawa, Francois Cazalet

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
#4 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM: Daniel Sanders

2025 Dakar Rally - Stage 2
Dakar
101

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