Loeb’s Dakar curse continues and the fight for Dakar victory is compressed

Follow the curse of Sébastien Loeb in the Dakar. When the 9-time World Rally Champion arrived in 2016 at the toughest event in the world, no one doubted that it would not be long before he achieved his first Dakar crown. But in his 9th participation, he won’t be the one to charm either. An accident left him with almost no options in stage 3 of the Dakar 2025. History repeats itself.

The pilot Alsatian (February 26, 1974, Haguenau, France) knew that he needed a period of adaptation to an unexpected date full of risks. The clearest example is his former teammate and rally rival, Carlos Sainz, who did not achieve his first ‘Touareg‘ in his fourth participation, and had to wait until 7 more editions to succeed again, after accumulating 5 consecutive abandonments.

Loeb was more than warned but no one doubted that he would become champion, at least several times, in the most complicated rally on the planet. However, what no one expected, not even Sébastien himself, was that the Dakar would be a success and a fortune.very important in this race, is very difficult.

The very fast and versatile French driver managed to get on the podium 5 times in his 8 participations previous races and amassing a whopping 28 stage wins, the sixth most in history, with the car’s amazing 6 stage winning streak achieved in 2023, an edition in which he had 7 stage wins. Their numbers are amazing. No one doubts his great talent. He has everything to win the Dakar. But in this test it is not valid.

That is often said “The Dakar chooses its winner.” The appointment itself should decide whether you can win it. And with such difficult, varied and complex routes, it is very easy to fall into one of the many traps in the desert. This happened to him on too many occasions. And it happened again in 2025, a year in which, like the previous ones, Some predicted that “it must be Loeb’s Dakar.” It is not.

Sébastien Loeb managed to salvage a difficult stage 2 due to the problems he suffered at the start of the 48 hour time trial.two days and no help, minimizing losses to save the tools and stay 18 minutes behind the leader and very close to his great rival and colleague at Dacia, Nasser Al-Attiyah. But in episode 3, the former gymnast again fell into the trap of cruel trials for her.

At kilometer 12, when he was accelerating at full speed through the sandy terrain, a sandbar invisible to his eyes slowed him down. He lost control of his car and it has several bells. He managed to continue driving with the wrecked car but stopped again shortly after. In total, after losing 50 minutes due to the accident, he lost 1 hour and 3 minutes and said goodbye to almost any chance of success.

Although he knows Loeb, he will do everything to try the seemingly impossible, as happened in 2023, when on stage 2 he lost almost two hours due to several punctures and managed to bravely return to second place. however, Al-Attiyah knows how to manage his advantage.

Tight fight with Nasser as favourite

History could repeat itself this time though there seem to be stronger rivals in a very tight and contested race leader where Al-Attiyah It seems to be in a very comfortable position, even if there are doubts about the reliability of a new car like Dacia. Nasser You can’t be restless, especially in front of the reliable Toyota of a Whiplash which remains the leader after stage 3 and a Ekström who wanted to defend Ford’s pride after theside of Sainz and Nani Roma, the latter continuing the race to help the team.

This Tuesday the South African won Saood Variawaentering the racing history books as the youngest winner of the Dakar’s main category at just 19 years old. Chicherit was 2nd and De Mevius, 3rd.

They will be in charge of opening the track the first part of the marathon stage (stage 4), without assistance at the end of the day in Al Ula. Seth Quintero was fourth and the young Portuguese Joao Ferreira was 5th then Al-Attiyah (6th at 3 minutes), still waiting to attack.

So, the general classification tightens and there are many drivers with options, although there are not many of the great favorites, such as Sainz and Loeb. Henk Lategan remains the leader at 7’17” Nasser Al-Attiyahsecond overall, with Ford of Mattias Ekström in third place at 9’34”. Al-Rajhi was 4th in 11’45”, with Lucas Moraes (and his co-pilot Armand Monleón) in 5th place in 19’40”, very lively in the match. Toby Price and Sam Sunderlandin their debut in cars after their successful passage in the motorcycle class, was surprisingly sixth in 20’17”, wishes everyone. For his part, the Toyota official Seth Quintero He was 10th in 35’04” and could not be left behind.

The fight for victory Dakar It’s still open, with the clear favorite increasingly left alone in respect to the big contenders. the champion, Carlosis gone and Loeb bids farewell to his pursuit. SA Nasser It went down and down waiting for his attack.