Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia Reaches Halfway Point

• Sports

This year's edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia has reached the halfway point of the competition, one of the most prestigious auto moto races in the world. Out of the 15 planned stages, seven have been completed. There have been seven stages completed in all disciplines, but Nasser Al-Atityah has cause for celebration in the most popular discipline, cars.

With a time of 27:26:23, the driver from Qatar established himself in the lead after seven stages. Lategan from South Africa is watching the Qatari competitor from behind, with a lag of 1:01:04, followed by the Brazilian Moraes with a lag of 1:11:24.

Taking fifth place was the legendary Sebastian Loeb. Loeb drives for Bahrain Raid Xtreme, while Al-Attiyah drives for Toyota Gazoo Racing. There have been seven stages completed in the other disciplines of this year's Rally Dakar.

SSV Led by Luppi de Oliveira

The Czech representative Loprais leads the Dakar-Trucks competition, ahead of the two Dutchmen Van den Brink and Van Kasteren. SSV is led by Brazilian Luppi de Oliveira ahead of Lithuanian Baciusko, while LW Prototype is led by the Belgian Mevbisu.

Howes leads the Bikes discipline, followed by Benavides of Argentina and Florimo of Chile. The Classic discipline of this year's Dakar Rally has been dominated by Spanish drivers. Halfway through the competition, Morera sits in the top spot, followed closely by Santaolalla Milla.

There was a shake-up in the rankings of the Quads discipline, with Giroud leading the way and Moreno Flores, Copetti, and Andujar following close behind. After the completion of the eighth stage from Ad Dawadimi to Riyadh, the top drivers will have a well-deserved rest day on Monday before tackling the final six stages starting on Tuesday.

The longest stage of the rally, from Ha'il to Riyadh, took place on Friday and saw Al-Attiyah come out on top in the car competition, followed by Sebastien Loeb and Henk Lategan. With the competition heating up as the end draws near, all eyes will be on the remaining stages to see who will come out on top.