The 2025 Dakar Rally's Stage 2A is done and we're here with all the info from the first half of this year's 48-hour Chrono Stage. Top Dakar Rally racers completed over 600km of race course today and the front runners put on a show of speed and navigation prowess to further seperate themselves form the field.

KTM Factory Racing's Daniel Sanders extended his lead in the general (virtual) standings and American Ricky Brabec on the Monster Energy HRC Honda team kept it close. Defending World Champion Ross Branch on the Hero Motorsports team was fast and consistent, as well - making the top three elite riders in a league of their own. 

It's pretty much radio silence from the remote rest areas today, but we caught up with HRC Honda's Johnny Campbell to get some insight from the ground-level in Saudi Arabia.

The big two-day stage finishes tomorrow after another 300+km of racing, and then they head into a brutal 800km stage three!

The Dakar Rally organizers are really putting the screws to the racers this year - brutal!

Follow and communicate with us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakar\_rally\_daily/

And leave comments on Cycle News YouTube coverage: 

https://www.youtube.com/@cyclenews

Cycle News official race results coverage:

https://www.cyclenews.com/2026/01/article/2026-dakar-rally-results/

Buy us a coffee!

https://ko-fi.com/dakarrallydaily

Visit our partners

KLIM

Rally Navigator

The Baja Rally

(more to come!)

Dakar Rally Daily is produced and edited by Jesse Ziegler, and hosted by Quinn Cody and Jesse Ziegler.