Tuesday's high-speed Stage 9 dash from Riyadh to Haradh served as a link between Saudi Arabia's capital city and the barren wilderness of the Empty Quarter Desert with five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah scoring his first 2025 Ultimate class stage win in his Dacia Sandrider. The Qatari's 49th stage win of his illustrious Dakar career puts him 31 seconds behind the Ford Raptor T1+ of Mattias Ekström, who holds third place overall behind new Saudi leader Yazeed Al Rajhi and South African driver Henk Lategan. Belgian Guillaume De Mévius excelled again in second in his MINI to score useful World Rally-Raid Championship points in the second week of this Dakar, despite being over seven hours behind overall. Wednesday's Stage 10 sees the remaining convoy tackle immense Empty Quarter Desert sand dunes that can reach up to 250m high, so all the competitors will be on high alert despite the short special distance. https://www.outlookindia.com/sports/motorsport/dakar-rally-2025-stage-9-has-riders-dashing-from-riyadh-to-haradh-in-pics