BISHA, Saudi Arabia Tuesdays Stage Three of the Dakar Rally between Bisha and Al Henakiyah produced another dramatic day of action as Swede Mattias Ekström moved up into the top three overall to lead the charge for Ford M-Sport following the retirement of reigning champion Carlos Sainz.

He now lies nine minutes and 34 seconds behind Ultimate leader Henk Lategan with Nasser Al-Attiyah in second place. Forty-six-year-old Ekström, who can still count on teammates Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Nani Roma for support, said, For our part, we did our best to drive smart today. Were happy with where we are.

Sadly for Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, his quest for a first Dakar Rally title took a hit when he lost over an hour after his Dacia Sandrider turned sideways and rolled at high-speed. Despite the car sustaining serious damage, he was able to continue after teammate Cristina Gutiérrez handed over spare parts.

I hit a rut that turned us sideways and the car rolled, Loeb said. There wasnt so much damage, but after 50 kilometers we broke a steering rod. Cristina stopped to give us one, but after that the front engine fan stopped working.

Seth Quintero and Belgian Guillaume De Mévius both finished in the top four with the American not far off a second 2025 stage win.

We got stuck in the dust for quite a long time in the beginning, Quintero said. Once we got past a few guys, we were able to set sail. Unfortunately, we got a slow puncture just before the finish and that cost us the stage win.

Australian Daniel Sanders saw his overall bike lead eaten into by his rivals with Argentine Luciano Benavides making up five minutes on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, who had to overcome the fact his electronic roadbook stopped working.

My tablet stopped working, so I couldnt navigate, Sanders said. I was lost out there and I picked the wrong person to follow. Its unfortunate.

Spaniard Edgar Canet leads the Rally2 category after three stages for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

The Challenger standings saw teammates Gonçalo Guerreiro and Corbin Leaverton both lose precious ground to leader Nicolas Cavigliasso, however home rider Dania Akeel produced a superb performance to finish just 26 seconds off the Argentine on the day.

It was a rocky, twisty stage with nice navigation to figure out, Akeel said. It was hard to gain time because it was so fast.

Elsewhere, Dakar legend Francisco Chaleco López dusted himself off quickly from his Stage 2 disappointment to earn his first SSV stage win this year with Wednesdays Stage Four seeing the convoy take on the first half of the 47th editions gruelling Marathon Stage.

The competitors will be plunged into the spectacular canyons of AlUla and will have to bring along their own tool kits with no mechanics on hand overnight.