As is to be expected, the winner of the first two specials, Daniel Sanders, leads the standings of the 47th Dakar. The Australian holds a 2′22″ advantage over the defending champion, Ricky Brabec, and 2′38″ over Ross Branch.

Three different manufacturers occupy the top three spots: KTM, Honda and Hero. Skyler Howes, who stayed behind yesterday to assist an injured Sebastian Bühler, sits fourth overall, 4′57″ off Sanders.

Tosha Schareina rounds out the top 5, 5′07″ adrift. For the 48h chrono stage, the Rally GP riders will start in reverse order of the stage 1 standings. This means Sanders will set off in twentieth position this morning, with Mohammed Balooshi leading the charge today.

Sanders followed up his triumph in the prologue with another one today. The Australian made it two stage wins in a row and vaulted into the overall lead, echoing the 2022 edition.

"There was no wind in the morning, so it was pretty tough to make some passes. And then, once I got past Canet at about kilometre 70, the dust was gone and I had to catch up to Ross and the Honda boys in front. So by the time we got to the refuel, there were a few navigation mistakes, but I tried to correct it as quick as possible and just focused on the...

The reigning champion Ricky Brabec has started the rally in great form. Second today, 2'22" down on Daniel Sanders, the top-ranked Honda rider has achieved his goal: starting the next stage near his closest rivals at the moment, Sanders and Branch.

"It was a really difficult day. I couldn't even imagine starting up front and opening. These guys did an excellent job. The road book was just, you know, tricky. A lot of quick notes, but a lot of vegetation where you couldn't really, you know, find a smooth rhythm. You're always making 90-degree quick corners.

The Spaniard, Tosha Schareina is one of the favourites, stayed in contention with the fourth-fastest time of the day but lost 4'42" to Daniel Sanders.

"Many bushes on the road. I didn't have any mistake, any crash. I just tried to do my best in the dust. I think there was a little mistake in the road book, so that cost me 5 minutes. I hope I can get it back later. We knew that 400 K for the start of the Dakar is not at all easy. I didn't do the 48 h chrono last year, so everything is new for me, but I think we are ready and we are strong."

Setting off fourth into the stage after his 24th place result in the prologue, Kevin Benavides knew that he would have to deliver a mistake-free ride to make up time and move up the rankings. Battling with challenging navigation and intense dust near the front of the pack, Kevin put in a safe but solid performance to finish 17th on the stage and overall standings.

Kevin Benavides: “Today’s 413km special was honestly really tough. The navigation was tricky, which I didn’t expect for the first stage, but I stuck to my plan of starting off steady and really focusing on my roadbook to avoid any mistakes, so I think that paid off. I pushed where I could, and it is great to be back racing so I’m happy with today overall. Today was hard, but I am looking forward to tomorrow’s chrono stage!”

Dakar rookie Edgar Canet certainly made his mark on his Dakar Rally debut. After ranking third overall in Friday’s prologue against experienced rally legends, the 19-year-old carried his momentum into Saturday’s stage one, leading the Rally2 class for most of the day. Despite building up an advantage of nearly 14 minutes over his nearest rival, a navigation error after the refueling stop cost Edgar precious time, which saw him ultimately finish as runner-up in Rally2, and 15th overall.

Edgar Canet: “Today’s stage was good! In the first part of the stage, my speed was good and I didn’t get lost, which was great as the navigation was hard. After the refueling, though, I got lost in the same place for a while, which unfortunately cost me the win in Rally2 today. Overall, I have a great feeling with the bike, I am learning a lot and I’m looking forward to the rest of the race!”

Pablo Quintanilla: Well we finished the first day of the race, it was a pretty long and hard stage. The navigation was very very difficult, also the terrain was rocky, tricky with a lot of technical sections and many bushes. It was not a good day for me as I was struggling a little bit with the bike since the morning, I had some issues with the front end so the handling was really heavy, but we will check now to find out why. It’s just the first day but I’m happy to arrive in one piece so now I’ll rest before a long, long day tomorrow.

Skyler Howes: I was catching up to Sebastian and was in his dust and then the next thing our GPS was making a siren noise and I could see he had just picked himself up and was injured. I stopped with him and hit the rescue button as he had broken his collarbone. I spent a few minutes there on the side of the trail and then I hopped back in behind Ricky where it was just super dusty for the rest of the day.

Adrien Van Beveren: It was a tough day for me as I crashed 15km into the stage. In the bushes I didn’t see a turn, I got myself on the rear of the bike to try to avoid the crash but couldn’t. My airbag did its job so I didn’t get hurt, but from then I was in the dust of the guys in front so I didn’t risk it too much. Then the guys caught me up, I was then in their dust because I let them pass. I spent my day in the dust but I think I rode better at the end and this is what I will try to remember. I had no road book push button from the crash so I had to do it manually and this didn’t help to set a good rhythm. But it is what it is, this is Dakar, we will make the best of it.

Full results here: Dakar - Live race coverage

Provisional Results – 2025 Dakar Rally, Stage 1
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 4:41:27

2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 4:43:31 +2:04

3. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 4:43:53 +2:26

4. Skyler Howes (USA), Honda, 4:45:34 +4:07

5. Tosha Schareina (USA), Honda, 4:46:09 +4:42

Provisional Standings – 2025 Dakar Rally (after 1 of 12 stages)
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 4:58:18

2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 5:00:40 +2:22

3. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 5:00:56 +2:38

4. Skyler Howes (USA), Honda, 5:03:17 +4:59

5. Tosha Schareina (USA), Honda, 5:03:25 +5:07