Overview
- Nasser Al‑Attiyah extended his overall lead to about 15 minutes after winning the 12th stage, effectively closing out the cars race.
- He logged his 50th Dakar stage victory, matching the all‑time mark held by Stéphane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen.
- Nani Roma slipped to a distant second overall yet retains an advantage of roughly eight minutes over Mattias Ekström for the runner‑up spot.
- Ekström moved ahead of Sébastien Loeb for third by seconds, setting up a tight fight for the final podium place on the short run to Yanbu.
- Carlos Sainz fell back in the standings and is poised to finish fifth after losing further time on the penultimate special.