Lucas Moraes claimed his first-ever Dakar stage victory this Sunday, emerging as the fastest in the seventh stage. The Toyota driver delivered a commanding performance against his rivals.
The Brazilian, competing for the third time, outpaced Mattias Ekström (Ford M-Sport) by a staggering 7m41s, with Mitchell Guthrie (Ford M-Sport) taking third, 9m28s behind. Nasser Al-Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) secured fourth place, followed by Seth Quintero (Toyota) in fifth.
In the fight for the overall win, Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive/Toyota) made a significant recovery with the sixth-fastest time, while Henk Lategan (Toyota) endured a tough day. The South African finished 15th, losing nearly seven minutes to the Saudi competitor.
As a result, Lategan retains the overall lead but by a slim margin of just 21 seconds. Ekström is third, 10m25s behind, while Al-Attiyah and Guthrie now round out the top five.
