Overview
- Ricky Brabec won stage 12 in the motos, converting a 23-second deficit into an overall lead of about 3 minutes 20 seconds after executing a start-order strategy to chase rather than open the route.
- Luciano Benavides, who led entering the day, conceded time while opening the stage yet said he keeps hope alive for the short finale.
- Nasser Al-Attiyah dominated the penultimate cars stage to extend his advantage over Nani Roma to roughly 15 minutes and claim his 50th Dakar stage win, equaling Ari Vatanen and Stéphane Peterhansel.
- Nani Roma remains second overall in cars with a buffer of more than eight minutes over Mattias Ekström, who moved past Sébastien Loeb for third by 29 seconds.
- Tosha Schareina placed third on the stage and has effectively locked in third overall in the motorcycle classification, with a 105-kilometer special set to close the rally on Saturday.