Overview
- Luciano Benavides clinched his first Dakar motorcycle title after overhauling Ricky Brabec by two seconds on the final stage.
- Brabec began the 105 km special with a 3:20 overall cushion, led on corrected time thanks to bonuses, then lost the rally after taking a wrong left turn about two kilometers from the finish.
- Benavides’ total time was 49 hours and 41 seconds, with the two-second margin the narrowest recorded in the event’s history.
- In cars, Nasser Al-Attiyah won the penultimate stage for his 50th career Dakar stage victory and holds a 15:02 advantage over Nani Roma going into the short Yanbu finale.
- The fight for third in the car classification remains close after Stage 12, with Mattias Ekström only 29 seconds ahead of Sébastien Loeb.