North Yorkshire endurance racer Robbie Wallace overcame the weather as well as the tortuous sand dunes to complete the penultimate stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally to go into tomorrow’s final blast with the finish in sight.
The 27-year-old electrical engineer from Northallerton had to wait for fog to clear this morning before departing for the eleventh stage of the two-week classic and with organisers fearing for the bike riders’ safety in the dark, they reduced the planned stage by around 100 miles to 152km instead of the 308km planned in the unforgiving nature of the Saudi Arabian Empty Quarter in the loop around Shubaytah.
Nevertheless, it was another difficult day in the desert over 384km (238 miles) for Robbie who gained further experience in the unfamiliar terrain to bring the X Raids Experience TCC Plant-sponsored 450cc KTM home to 51st position out of the 90 riders still in the event. Going into the final test, he occupies 85th overall, 75th in the Rally2 class and 21st Rookie despite incurring over 58 hours of penalties when he had to miss a couple of stages due to crashing out last week.
Robbie Wallace: “Today’s stage was cut short due to the fog which meant the rescue helicopters couldn’t take off, so they delayed the start for safety reasons. I was glad in a way as I really struggle in the sand dunes, and today would have been another tough day, but I really enjoyed it, nonetheless. It means that after a 70km (43 mile) liaison section, we have only 61km (38 miles) competitive stage to do with a mass start which should be fun! I’m looking forward to that and hoping we can get over that finish line and achieve my dream.”
Results after Stage 11 –Shubaytah to Shubaytah
Position on Stage: 51st
Overall Position: 85th
Rally2 Position: 75th
Rookie Position: 21st
Overall Time: 139h 38′ 02”
Total Penalties: 58h 09’ 00”
Time Behind Leader: 87h 24′ 28”
Distance Covered: 7,332km
Distance To Go: 131 km
SAND SNIPPETS
- With the competitive section of SS11 reduced by half, Spaniard Tosha Schareina (Honda) struck a big blow by regaining 7 minutes 31 seconds over long-time leader Daniel Sanders (KTM). However, the Aussie KTM rider still has a nine-minute lead going into tomorrow’s short massed-start 61km sprint. Third still is Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) some 15 minutes and 50 seconds off the lead with Luciano Benavides (KTM) 22 minutes 16 seconds adrift of Sanders. American Honda riders Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes complete the top six.
- The 61km final stage contested tomorrow will be different from the others. The bike racers will start in waves of 15 in the reverse order of the general rankings. The best ranked 15 riders will therefore be the last away and will start together. The finishing line on the special will be at the bivouac as was the case when the rally began in Bisha on Stage 1.
Pictures attached courtesy of EdoPhoto, higher resolution versions and a selection of others are available upon request.
More updates as the event progresses and further details at www.dakar.com.
Notes to Editors
The 47th edition of the Dakar will see around 140 motorcycle competitors, as well as hundreds of car, buggy and truck drivers from all over the world converge on Bisha in the south west of Saudi Arabia starting with technical checks and administration on January 1st/2nd 2025 and then the Prologue on January 3rd 2025 before the competition starts in earnest the following day. There then follows a mighty 950km stage over two days on varied terrain, with competitors required to camp out overnight in the desert in a bivouac. At least five stages of the 2025 Dakar will take place on separate courses for safety purposes to reduce the danger of cars and trucks overtaking bikes, and another feature of the 2025 event is riders will have to service their own bikes for up to 800km on a couple of days. After 14 days incorporating 12 stages, Shubaytah, in the eastern part of the country and near the Abu Dhabi border, will welcome the weary finishers.
ENDS
