The ninth stage of the Dakar Rally 2025 was one to remember. Birthday boy Mitchel van den Brink seemed on course for the stage victory for much of the day, but in the end, it was Aleš Loprais who crossed the finish line first. His De Rooy-built Iveco finished just 1 minute and 29 seconds ahead of Van den Brink. A puncture prevented Vaidotas Zala from finishing higher than third, with a gap of 5 minutes and 42 seconds.
Despite Loprais’ strong performance, overall leader Martin Macík remains comfortably in the lead, followed by Van den Brink and Loprais. However, with three challenging stages through the Empty Quarter’s dunes coming up, everything can still change.


Reactions After the Stage
- Mitchel van den Brink: “It was a fast stage with few technical sections. We mostly drove flat out and tried to create a gap with Loprais. That worked quite well, but we lost some time in the final part. Tomorrow, the real dunes begin, and we’re feeling confident.”
- Max van Grol (mechanic in Zala’s truck, 3rd): “We lost six minutes changing a flat tire. It’s a shame because our speed was good. We’re looking forward to the dunes tomorrow.”
- Kees Koolen (6th): “The upcoming dune stages can turn everything upside down. Losing an hour is nothing if you get stuck.”
- Martin van den Brink (7th): “The impacts and high speeds caused the windshield to break, and we had to stop to kick it out. That took some time, as did a leaking shock absorber, but we finished seventh and are happy with that.”


Stage 9 Results
1. Aleš Loprais 3h20m51s
2. Mitchel van den Brink +0:01:29
3. Vaidotas Zala +0:05:42
4. Martin Macík +0:07:31
5. Martin Soltys +0:13:06
6. Kees Koolen +0:13:36
7. Martin van den Brink +0:23:01
8. Maurik van den Heuvel +0:25:32
9. Tomas Vratny +0:27:14
10. Richard de Groot +0:29:02
Overall Standings After Stage 9
1. Martin Macík – 50h14m19s
2. Mitchel van den Brink +2:23:42
3. Aleš Loprais +2:28:38
4. Martin Soltys +5:08:19
5. Kees Koolen +5:22:37
6. Martin van den Brink +6:07:58
7. Vaidotas Zala +6:54:06
8. Richard de Groot +8:28:44
9. Anja van Loon +10:36:23
10. Teruhito Sugawara +11:55:49
Looking Ahead
With the feared dunes of the Empty Quarter on the horizon, the Dakar Rally will be decided over the next few days in the most demanding conditions. Macík holds a comfortable lead and can approach the next three challenging dune stages with some confidence, but the battle for second and third place is incredibly close. We can expect an exciting conclusion to this year’s Dakar Rally.