Stage 10 Haradh → Subaytah 🏆

The day will start at the crack of dawn with a long road section taking the competitors to the sandy expanse of the Empty Quarter.

← Stage 9

Stage 11 →

ℹ️ Route info ℹ️

The special is as tricky as it is short, with surprises lurking behind every dune. Recklessly charging over the top of a dune is the perfect recipe for a barrel roll, while less-than-perfect driving can easily get a car stuck in a hollow for 20 minutes!

Liaison

520 km

Special Stage

120 km

This is just the beginning of the adventure in the realm of the dunes.

📝 Team de Rooy FPT Also Wins Tenth Stage Dakar Rally! 📝

SHUBAYTAH – Team de Rooy FPT claimed its second consecutive stage victory in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday. Aleš Loprais, driving his Iveco truck, dominated the tenth stage, securing his fourth stage win in this Dakar. He closed to within four minutes of second-place overall holder Mitchel van den Brink.

Anja van Loon also performed exceptionally well in the Empty Quarter stage. Alongside her brothers Jan and Ben van de Laar, she secured sixth place. Vaidotas Žala finished ninth.

Locked in Close Competition

“Today’s special was short, but entirely in the dunes, so it was really tough”, said David Křípal, navigator of Loprais’ #601 Iveco. “The dunes were very sharp and tough. It was harder to drive through some places because they were already very broken, as the surface was worn down by the cars that started earlier.”

It was a thrilling stage where Van den Brink and Loprais remained locked in close competition.

The Dutchman held a slight lead over the Czech driver from InstaTrade Loprais Team de Rooy FPT at the special’s early stages, but Loprais pulled ahead near the finish, winning by 48 seconds.

Křípal noted, “We finished first, which we are happy about, even though we were only less than a minute faster than Mitchel van den Brink today and we would have needed more.”

605 Skuba Team de Rooy FPT

However, the victory comes with a downside, as Thursday’s 11th stage will feature trucks driving their own route for the first time in this Dakar.

The tenth stage winner must start first in the second dune stage through the Empty Quarter, facing the disadvantage of no existing tracks in the sand.

Vaidotas Žala

Paulo Fiuza

Max van Grol

613 Fried van de Laar Racing Team de Rooy FPT

Strong Performance

Representing Fried van de Laar Racing Team de Rooy FPT, Anja van Loon delivered an impressive performance. She demonstrated excellent driving skills on the high dunes of the Empty Quarter, securing a respectable sixth place.

All three Iveco trucks from Team de Rooy FPT showed strong speed on Wednesday. Žala posted excellent split times that suggested a possible stage win, but the Lithuanian driver’s chances were derailed by a crash that cost him 20 minutes.

Anja van Loon

Jan van de Laar

Ben van de Laar

Thursday marks the final major challenge of this Dakar Rally. Loprais is focused on maintaining his second place in the overall standings.

Navigational tactics

Křípal: “You can easily lose a lot of time. We have to come up with some tactics for tomorrow and see how it works out. We will work as hard as we can, because because nothing is decided until the very last kilometer.”