Glyn Hall, a technical consultant at Toyota Gazoo Racing who designed the original Hilux, has had his finger on the Dakar Rally’s pulse since the start. After all, the new Hilux for 2026 was developed with his insight due to his track record with the predecessor.

Regarding the penultimate stage on Friday, he had five simple words: “A few war stories today.”

Stage 12 was the last long stage of the race, spanning 311 kilometers in timed sections with an additional 409 on the road. With the final leg only being 105 km, Friday was essentially the last chance for many to make up lost ground or try to gain the upper hand.

For Nani Roma, his Ford Raptor nearly got him taken out of the race. He entered Friday trailing Nasser Al-Attiyah in the overall by 8:40, but had little answer for his rival as Al-Attiyah led the stage from start to finish. Roma tried to keep pace, but was stuck outside the top ten for much of the day before finally setting the seventh-best time through the final checkpoint with 23 kilometers to go.

Disaster then struck 50 meters before the finish when the front axle came off after a hard impact. While he was able to coast across the finish on three wheels, finishing eighth for the day, he ran out of fuel seven kilometers before he could make it back to the bivouac.

As the specter of retirement loomed, Laia Sanz helped tow him back to the Ford camp. Sanz’s car had a new floor plate installed underneath due to the previous taking damage, which seems to come in handy with the rocky environment faced.

“This has been the toughest day in my career,” said Roma. “I don’t believe in miracles, but today maybe yes, because it’s been so crazy. Seven kilometers from the bivouac, I ran out of petrol. It was incredible that just then Laia Sanz passed me. She gave me a tow the rest of the way. Normally, it would be impossible that I could arrive back at the bivouac. I apologize to my team for my mistake.”

Regardless of the finish, Roma’s chances of winning a third Bedouin are slim. Al-Attiyah’s dominance on Friday inflated the gap between them to 16:02, a near-impossible task with how short Stage 13 is barring a miracle.

Al-Attiyah’s win was the 50th overall stage win, tying him with Ari Vatanen and Stéphane Peterhansel for the most all time as a driver.

Another recurring pattern throughout the day was drivers getting lost. The very fast and dusty, WRC-style roads were followed by a series of canyons where many like Seth Quintero got lost. Henk Lategan, a contender for the overall until a wheel bearing broke in Stage 11, struggled with two punctures and dust. Both Century Racing Factory Team members Brian Baragwanath and Mathieu Serradori got lost as well.

Mechanical trouble included Guillaume de Mévius losing power steering and Mitchel van den Brink’s windshield breaking. Roger Grouwels got stuck in the dunes and had to be pulled out by Martin van den Brink.

On the bike side, Honda regained the lead from KTM as Ricky Brabec beat Luciano Benavides by 3:43, giving him over a 3:20 gap going into the last day. Honda also secured their 120th Dakar stage win.

“We lost a bit of time, but I’m happy because I gave 100 percent and we’re still in the fight,” said Benavides. “The stage was challenging with dust, difficult navigation, lots of rocks, and some soft dunes where it was easy to lose time. There’s just one shorter stage left tomorrow, and we’ll keep pushing and believing right until the final kilometer.”

Daniel Sanders finished 15th overall and last among RallyGP riders. While still struggling with his broken collarbone and sternum from his crash in Stage 10, he fully intends to complete the race.

Following the stage, Ben de Groot was fined €500 because he was absent for Stages 11 and 12 due to a fractured vertebra he suffered in Stage 3. Navigator Ad Hofmans and mechanic Govert Boogaard continued on their own with the former as the driver and the latter navigating. While they fought valiantly to score back-to-back top tens, including overcoming a flat tire on Friday, they were fined afterward since the rules stipulate all three must be in the cockpit regardless of circumstances.

Stage 12 winners

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	299	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Dacia Sandriders	3:21:52
Challenger	21	347	Kevin Benavides	Odyssey Academy by BBR	3:44:52
SSV	32	406	Jeremías González Ferioli	Puma Energy Rally Team / Can-Am Factory Team	3:51:36
Stock	71	504	Sara Price	Defender Rally	4:17:35
Truck	41	601	Mitchel van den Brink*	Eurol Rally Sport	3:58:47

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
RallyGP	1	9	Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda HRC	3:19:01
Rally2	5	14	Michael Docherty	BAS World KTM Racing Team	3:38:02

Other

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Classic	728	Maxence Gublin*	Bolides Racing Team	52
Mission 1000	1004 1005 1006	Miguel Puertas* Esther Merino* Fran Pallas*	Arctic Leopard Galicia Team Arctic Leopard Galicia Team Arctic Leopard Galicia Team	20

Leaders after Stage 12

FIA

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	299	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Dacia Sandriders	48:01:51
Challenger	28	336	Pau Navarro	Odyssey Academy by BBR	53:49:52
SSV	30	401	Brock Heger*	LOEB FrayMédia Motorsport	54:14:13
Stock	53	502	Rokas Baciuška	Defender Rally	57:13:54
Truck	43	604	Vaidotas Žala*	NØRDIS Team de Rooy FPT	56:01:24

FIM

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
RallyGP	1	9	Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda HRC	48:08:12
Rally2	9	16	Toni Mulec	BAS World KTM Racing Team	51:03:28

Other

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Points
Classic	703	Karolis Raišys*	Ovoko Racing	715
Mission 1000	1040	Jordi Juvanteny*	KH-7 Ecovergy Team	217

Featured image credit: Julien Delfosse / DPPI / ASO