
Stage 11 Shubaytah ↔
The big Empty Quarter Challenge comes to a head on the eve of the finish.
ℹ️ Route info ℹ️
It is not too late to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat or climb onto the podium on a terrain riddled with pitfalls in every erg, as well as in the chotts in between.
Liaison
232 km
Special Stage
275 km
Consummate dune surfers, both riders and drivers, will get a chance to gain buckets of time. However, this time round, there will be three courses so that trucks do not have to spend too much time in the bosom of the dunes.
📝 Holding Strong on Stage 11; 📝
van Loon Masters Dakar’s Tricky Empty Quarter Dunes
SHUBAYTAH – In a tough eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally, Team de Rooy FPT didn’t manage to regain second place among the trucks. Number three Aleš Loprais needed to close a gap of just over four minutes on Mitchel van den Brink but lost one and a half minutes to the Dutchman and finished the day in fifth place. Vaidotas Žala ensured that a Team de Rooy rider finished in the top three again on Thursday. The Lithuanian finished third. Anja van Loon placed eleventh.
The second day in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia began with a setback. The start was delayed because of fog. Ultimately, the trucks started 2.5 hours later than planned. “We spent 2.5 hours with all the truck participants looking at the mountain and wondering how we were going to get up there”, recalls Anja van Loon from the bivouac in Shubaytah.
Multiple Failures
Once the helicopters were cleared for takeoff, it signaled that the race could begin. “We could see everybody leaving, and the first one didn’t make it to the top, the second one didn’t make it, the third one did, and the fourth one didn’t make it up either. It just dropped out of the race. Didn’t finish on the penultimate day. And the track got crushed.”
The events certainly didn’t inspire much confidence. “We had to start sixth, and number five took another track, which we followed. And then we were able to get away”, said Van Loon. “It was really tough from the start. Yesterday we had dunes, but they were very different from today. Then they were very small and short, with different sand and at a different time of day. That made a big difference.”
Pushing Uphill
Instead of starting at 5:26 a.m., Van Loon and her brothers Ben and Jan van de Laar started 2.5 hours later. “Starting early makes a big difference with sand. But now we were very late, so with the sun quite high already. That makes the sand much looser. It was really like pushing uphill.” The driver of the Fried van de Laar Racing Team de Rooy FPT got stuck three times, fortunately only briefly each time. “It was really hard. And because the sand is so loose, you get stuck as soon as you stop.”
“We briefly searched for a waypoint where the track wasn’t right, but apparently it was also because a truck was stuck. It was a point where everybody thought oh, we have to go down there. But I should have kept going, then there wouldn’t have been any problem.”

Van Loon was distracted by the truck. “Like, oh yeah, we can’t go there. We have to take another route. But we are completely happy. Tomorrow is the last day”, she said of the ultra-short 61-kilometer special around Shubaytah. “I’m really, really looking forward to it. It’s just a few kilometers and then it’s done, then we’re there!”
Tomorrow…
The last stage will take place in the dunes around Shubaytah. Dakar competitors will face a mass start followed by a short but intense 60-kilometer stage. The event will conclude with the podium ceremony and medal presentation.
🏆 Stage 11 Results 🏆
After 275 km of special stage today
Stage Rank | Number | Driver | Time | Gap to first | Penalty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 605 | Vaidotas Žala | 4h57m21s | +2m07s | – |
5 | 601 | Ales Loprais | 4h59m40s | +4m26s | – |
11 | 613 | Anja van Loon | 8h58m56s | +4h03m42s | +3h30m |
Overall positions
After finishing Stage 10 Haradh → Shubaytah
Rank | Number | Driver | Time | Gap to first | Penalty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 600 | Martin Macik | 57h34m37s | – | – |
3 | 601 | Ales Loprais | 60h05m18s | +2h35m15s | – |
7 | 605 | Vaidotas Žala | 64h53m40s | +7h19m03s | +2m10s |
9 | 613 | Anja van Loon | 72h28m26s | +11h23m49s | +3h30m |
📷 Photos 📷
Waiting for photos…
Thanks to our photographers on site @Fotop @Rallymaniacs @MMProductions @Actiongraphers
🎥 Videos 🎥
Interview Anja van Loon
On board Ales Loprais
FPT special with Vaidotas Zala