Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi is set to win the Dakar Rally on home soil in the Saudi desert after retaking the lead from South Africa’s Henk Lategan.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi made history on Friday becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan regained the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday with a two minutes and 27 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi going into the penultimate stage.

Despite his best efforts in the dunes of Saudi Arabia’s notorious Empty Quarter on Thursday, Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings lost the Dakar Rally lead which they are highly unlikely to regain with the finish line in sight.

Yazeed al-Rajhi took the overall lead in the car standings at the Dakar Rally after finishing third in Thursday's decisive penultimate stage.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi to win the Dakar Rally when he completed the race on home sand on Friday. After 13 days of desert racing and more than 5,000 kilometers of specials, Al-Rajhi beat home Henk Lategan of South Africa by less than four minutes,

SHUBAYTAH, SAUDI ARABIA (Reuters) -Local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi secured his first Dakar title on Friday, finishing the 12-stage rally almost four minutes ahead of his closest competitor Henk Lategan, while Red Bull KTM's Daniel Sanders maintained his lead to win in the motorcycle category.

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi opened up a commanding overall lead of six minutes and 11 seconds over second-placed Henk Lategan in the Dakar Rally, after the South African, who led by over two minutes before Thursday,