Lategan who lost his lead on Thursday and was trailing Al-Rajhi by over six minutes at the start of stage 12 in Shubaytah, made a fast start but was unable to catch up with him in the shorter 61 km special.  The final margin between the two drivers was 3 minutes 57 seconds. After the race, the South African was philosophical about his first podium at Dakar.

“It’s tough to come this far, to lead the race for that long and have a really good race going, just to lose out by only a few minutes at the end. We really gave it our best. The team has been absolutely unbelievable with getting us to where we are, keeping the car in the race, and keeping us going,” he said.

Henk Lategan en Brett Cummings. Photo: Facebook

“We had a great race, it’s sad to lose it by such a small margin with everything that’s happened but we will come back fighting. I feel that I’ve gained a lot of experience. I’m still just at the beginning. This is my third full Dakar. We’ll keep pushing and I’ll work my hardest to come back and win this race.”

Mattias Ekstrom from Sweden took the final podium spot, finishing 20 minutes 21 seconds off the lead in Ford’s full-fledged debut in Dakar. His result meant Ford was able to beat fellow newcomer Dacia, as a frustrated former champion Nasser Al-Attiyah wound up fourth.

In the motorcycle category, Red Bull KTM's Daniel Sanders maintained his lead to win and become the second Australian to with the Dakar title after Toby Price. The Spaniard Tosha Schareina took second place in 8 minutes and 50 seconds behind Sanders, with Frenchman Adrian van Beveren taking the last place on the podium. 

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg