Brock Heger celebrated his 25th birthday by delivering a gift to his home country — a U.S. champion in the Dakar Rally for the fourth consecutive year.
Making his Dakar debut, the California native cruised to victory in the SSV class with fellow American navigator Max Eddy in their Polaris RZR Pro R Sport fielded by Sebastien Loeb Racing-RZR Factory Racing.
Heger completed the 12-stage event through the Saudi Arabian desert in 59 hours, 13 minutes and 11 seconds, winning by more than two hours over 2019 SSV winner Francisco Lopez Contardo. He joins Ricky Brabec (bike champion in 2020 and ’24), Austin “A.J.” Jones (SSV title in 2022 and T3 in 2023) and Casey Currie (UTV in 2020) as American champions of the prestigious off-road event.
“Today’s my birthday, so I figured I needed to treat myself to a good birthday present,” said Heger, who held the lead after the final nine stages to top the 23-car field. “So, we’re the Dakar champions, and it’s pretty crazy to think about it. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but I’m sure on my plane ride back to the USA, it will sink in. It’s a pretty cool accomplishment. It was a crazy two weeks.”
It’s been a whirlwind few months for Heger, who capped his second consecutive SCORE UTV Pro Open Class Championship with a solo victory in the Baja 1000 on Nov. 17.
Though he grew up racing in the desert with Dakar veterans Seth Quintero and Mitch Guthrie Jr., the 2025 Dakar marked Heger’s first rally using a road book. He trained for the navigation challenge with legendary U.S. rider Jimmy Lewis, who has mentored Brabec and other American drivers and riders.
Heger, whose family owns a commercial farm that sometimes has him on a tractor for 18-hour stints, acquitted himself quite well. He built a massive lead by notching 10 consecutive podiums.
“I’m just super excited about everything,” he said. “We were pretty much near the podium every day, so it was a super cool experience. I’m super thankful to be able to come and compete this year. Hopefully, I can come back in the future. Overall, it was something I’ll never forget.”
In the premier T1 category, Saudi Arabia native Yazeed Al-Rajhi completed his comeback victory on the sands of his home country. Al-Rajhi, who snatched the lead from Henk Lategan in Stage 11, won by just under 4 minutes for his first Dakar championship in 11 starts.
With navigator Timo Gottschalk, Al-Rajhi made history in the Toyota Hilux Overdrive as the first Saudi to win at Dakar and also the first overall champion to win the event on native soil.
“I am very, very happy to do it, it is not an easy race,” said the 43-year-old from Overdrive Racing. “It’s the toughest one that I’ve done in the last 11 years. For sure, I’m very happy. Me and Timo and my team did a great job like always. For sure, we have made a lot of records today: The first Saudi driver to win and also in the last 25 years, no private team beat a factory team, but we did it this time.”
Lategan took a career-best second in his third start after holding the overall lead for eight of 12 stages.
“It’s tough to come this far, to lead the race for that long, just to lose out by only a few minutes at the end,” Lategan said. “We really gave it our best. I sat out a year and to jump back in and immediately be fighting with the top guys is unbelievable. It’s sad to lose it by such a small margin with everything that’s happened, but we will come back fighting.”
Mattias Ekstrom finished third, and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah was fifth after winning last year.
Guthrie, a Glendora, California, native who was runner-up in T3 last year, finished fifth overall in his T1 debut with a Ford M-Sport Raptor navigated by American Kellon Walch.
Mitchell Guthrie (USA) for Ford M-Sport is seen at the finish line of during stage 10 of Rally Dakar 2025 from HARADH to SHUBAYTAH, Saudi Arabia on January 15, 2025. // Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202501150461 // Usage for editorial use only //
Mitch Guthrie Jr. finished fifth in his T1 debut at the Dakar Rally (Flavien Duhamel / Red Bull Content Pool).
“Very long Dakar, they didn’t make it easy on us drivers this year,” Guthrie said. “Just to get to the end in a good place. First yea rin the T1-plus, fifth overall feels like a win for me. It was such a clean Dakar. We really didn’t have any issues. To come here in fifth place with all these legendary drivers is amazing.”
In the bike category, Daniel Sanders became a first-time Dakar champion by finishing nearly 9 minutes ahead of Tosha Schareina. Adrien van Beveren was third.
“It’s the biggest race in the world motorbikes and off-roading,” said Sanders, the first Australian to win the Dakar bike title since Toby Price in 2019. “To win the six-day international enduro and now the Dakar, it’s just ticked off all the goals for my career and everything I’ve wanted to achieve. It’s a massive accomplishment.”
Luciano Benavides was fourth overall, followed by American riders and Honda teammates Brabec (fifth) and Skyler Howes (sixth).
“It’s been one heck of a week,” said Brabec, who was rebounding from a broken leg suffered last October at an event in Morocco. “It’s been difficult mentally and physically. This is my 10th Dakar, so it means a lot to me to finish. It’s not the result I wanted, but at the end of the day, I get to get on the airplane and go home. This is always a positive. I always say to win the Dakar is just a big bonus. Finishing is a big achievement. So I’m really happy. I’m happy with how I rode.
“I didn’t really know if I was going to make the Dakar. I didn’t show up 100 percent just because of the surgery and the plates and screws in my leg. But I did the best I could. I’m bummed it’s not the result I wanted, but I did finish well.
“Trying to claw back time wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t able to make a breakthrough to make a lot of time. The boys up front are navigating well and riding really fast. The only thing I can do now is go home and regroup and improve in a few areas and come back next year and fight.”
Said Howes: “If you would have asked me four years ago what this result would have meant, I would have told you the world. This is a dream come true to even be at the Dakar Rally let alone a factory team and trying to fight for the overall win is a huge accomplishment.
“I finished sixth, and we push for the win, but I’m extremely happy to be here. This was a super, super, really difficult race. I’m happy with my performance and riding. I know we can get to work and come back again for another really good result next year.”
In other notable results for Americans:
—Quintero, 22, took ninth in his second Dakar in the premier car category. The Southern California native scored two stage victories in his Toyota Gazoo Racing GR DKR Hilux.
“A year of learning for sure,” Quintero said. “A year of growing. The speed was there, and everything was awesome, and the whole Toyota race team did an amazing job, so I can’t think them enough. Yeah, it was a year of growing and learning and got a few wins there. We know we’re able to run up front for the whole entire Rally. A little bad luck here and there took us down a few spots but already ready for next year.”
Seth Quintero during the Stage 4 of the Dakar 2025 on January 8, 2025 between Al Henakiyah and Al Ula, Saudi Arabia // Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202501080873 // Usage for editorial use only //
Seth Quintero shares a laugh during Stage 4 of the 2025 Dakar Rally (Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool).
—After becoming the first U.S. woman to win a Dakar stage last year with a fourth overall in SSV, Sara Price earned two stage victories in the category this year. She finished more than 70 hours off the lead because of early mechanical problems but still left Saudi Arabia with optimism.
“My second Dakar has been very different for a lot of reasons,” Price said. “It hasn’t gone as smooth as the first one.
“This will be a Dakar to remember, definitely. It’s had a lot of ups and downs, a lot more downs than ups. Last year it was just so consistent. I’m out of the overall standings, but we’re making the most out of it, every stage and every day. We’re not giving up. I think that’s important, and it’s really cool to show that to other people.”
PAST DAKAR RALLY RESULTS
2024: Ricky Brabec wins second Dakar Rally championship
2023: Kevin Benavides first in bike; Nasser Al-Attiyah wins fifth title
2022: Al-Attiyah wins fourth overall; Austin Jones takes SSV
2021: Benavides beats Brabec in bike; Stephane Peterhansel wins 14th overall
