Dakar Classic 2025

by Compagnie Saharienne

29 December — Riyadh
🔥 DREAM TEAM DAKAR 2025 🔥
Here we are at last!
A year's work to have the pleasure of taking this photo. So here's the Compagnie Saharienne ‘in-house staff’ for this Dakar 2025, with our two in-house navigators François Beguin and Maxime Raud. The heart and soul of this beautiful machine that the structure is becoming this year. And yes, in a few days, there will be 32 of us sharing the adventure.
What immense pride and smiles here in Riyadh, just moments before we take off for Jeddah... Let the Dakar begin.
31 December — Jeddah
📌 Port of Jeddah - Vehicle recovery
First checks yesterday morning as we collect our vehicles. We went round the pressures, checked that everything was fine, and off we went!
We took advantage of this moment to deliver to our friends at @dppiimages our ‘flagship’ G1, which is their official press vehicle on this Dakar 2025. Thank you for your continued confidence in us, and we look forward to seeing more of Frédéric, Julien, Antonin, Florent and Éric's magnificent shots!


January 1st - Bisha
Starting 2025 with this view...
It's something we look forward to every year!
The customers left for private tests of the cars to validate our final adjustments.
➡️ The Compagnie Saharienne installation and testing video (click here) ⬅️
January 3rd — Bisha
〽️ Dakar 2025 - Big start for Compagnie Saharienne!
🇸🇦 That's it! Today, our 10 customers set off on their first Dakar aboard our 78 DKRs and 100 DKRs for the prologue.
It's a source of immense pride and pleasure to see them here together for the start photo. For its twin sister, the finish photo, we can already imagine a little more dust but undoubtedly the same smiles. Thank you all for your kindness and your passion for the Compagnie Saharienne project.
To all of you, enjoy and admire this exceptional environment in which we are lucky enough to evolve each year, and the challenge will be successful right to the end.
➡️ The video of the Compagnie Saharienne bivouac tour (click here) ⬅️


January 4th — Bisha
First laps of the race for our teams on this Dakar 2025. A lot of fun, a few navigation adjustments in the evening with the team, and a prologue that everyone passed with flying colours...
A good night's rest before tackling the real thing on 4 January!
January 5th — Bisha
🏆 DAY 1: A CLEAN SWEEP WITH A FIRST CLASS VICTORY
A very fine first day of racing. A real Dakar stage with no less than 337 kilometres of timed special stages making a total of 400 kms...
At the return in the evening, it is a grouped shooting for the 78 DKR which are placed 37th, 40th, 44th and 47th all categories included/understood. Unquestionably in the right car to make it through. Well done GPX and Sanjay Takale, keep pushing.
Valentin and Mathieu also put in a magnificent performance, giving our 100 DKR its first class victory (20th overall) on its first appearance on the Dakar Classic.
From now on, we'll just have to stay perfectly concentrated, as the race has only just begun and today's gaps are absolutely no indication of tomorrow's. But we have full confidence in our crews and we'll be able to keep up the pace. But we have every confidence in our crews, which we hope to have trained perfectly with Mathieu Baumel, to handle this long-distance race...


January 5th — Bisha
Just imagine... 🇮🇳
Having the honour of welcoming the first Indian in the history of the Dakar 4-wheeler since its creation. Sanjay Takale, an absolute pioneer of motor sport in his country, is finding his feet in rally-raid with great ease. Accompanied and complemented by his navigator Maxime Raud, the pair face the days of the Dakar Classic one after the other without faltering, constantly improving their modus operandi.
A solution that will undoubtedly pay off for Takale's first Dakar.
January 6th — Bisha, 48h Chrono
A second 48-hour stage, a real piece of the Dakar, contested over some 1000 kms... That was the programme for yesterday and today. And it was a tough one: dunes (already!), rolling terrain, bumps... All served up by A.S.O. in the environment to which, dare we say it, we are ‘accustomed’ by Saudi Arabia. But you can't get enough of it, it's as splendid as ever.
However, the pilots and navigators have made no mistake about it: they are there to put their foot down. So, tourism, that's for later!...
The 5 cars return to the bivouac without a hitch. A few comfort adjustments and a thorough check-up by the mechanical teams, and all's well. Tomorrow, we leave Bisha after a week here... Heading for Al Hennakiyah, for a special of 811 kms! Just enormous.
➡️ The video of the 48 Chrono Compagnie Saharienne (click here) ⬅️
➡️ The video of the difficult Compagnie Saharienne Stage 3 (click here) ⬅️


January 8th — Al Ula
Sublime Al Ula...
This is probably the most elegant region of Saudi Arabia. And what's more, tonight is the marathon stage for our crews. The principle? All the Compagnie Saharienne staff let them set off this morning and we said ‘See you tomorrow evening! And yes, they set off in total autonomy towards this dream camp, which only brings together the competitors... We're already at Haï'l where they'll be joining us tomorrow evening, on the eve of a well-deserved rest day.
It's becoming almost commonplace, but today was another exceptional day. First encounter with the Saudi dunes for this 2025 vintage. And not the least: the rave reviews from all our duos on the difficulty and beauty of these mountains of sand have convinced us that this year's Dakar Classic will be a tough one.
With the help of our advice and, for some of them, the training provided by Mathieu Baumel and Compagnie Saharienne, they did marvellously well: they completed all the waypoints on the route! Well done to you gentlemen, you've done us proud and you've done your Land Cruisers proud... with a bit of recklessness thrown in for good measure on those first tricky laps of the sand!
We look forward to tomorrow!
➡️ The video of the marathon stage at Compagnie Saharienne (click here) ⬅️
January 9th — Haï'l
9th place for Jean-Pierre and François today!
Two days after Sanjay and Maxime finished 7th, it's now number 758 who makes his entry in today's top 10, out of 96 entries...
It's a real pleasure to lead this circuit racer, a complete novice to rally-raid, to a place of choice among the ultra-specialists... It's thanks in particular to the robustness and reliability of the 78 DKR as well as to the talent of his professional navigator François, whom we introduced to him, that this success is possible. With humility and patience, the duo made their entry among the best performances of the edition, and even won the day's navigation event.
Well done to all our crews for your magnificent performances today (P9, P15, P23, P31 and P32). On the eve of the rest day, what better way to take a calm approach to the second week?



January 9th — Haï'l
They've done it again!
Valentin and Mathieu won their second stage in the H3 category with the Al Ula - Hail marathon stage. This puts them in a good position, almost equal with the leader, on the eve of the second week of the race. This fine performance is the reward for a great week of Dakar, with everything that makes this event so beautiful and intense.
Well done, gentlemen. Your performance, along with those of the GPX and Sanjay Takale competitors, is a source of pride for the team working alongside you.
January 10th — Rest Day
〽️ Who said anything about a day off?
The Compagnie Saharienne teams are hard at work to ensure that our customers leave with all the weapons they need for this second week of racing. Pierrick, Erwan, Stéphane, Maxime(s), Régis, Philippe, Sébastien and Dominique have been hard at work, as they should be, and everything is in perfect shape for the start this morning!
And they're not the only ones: Anton and Yana, the Actiongraphers photographers, came to immortalise our day! 📸
➡️ The Compagnie Saharienne assistance video (click here) ⬅️


January 11th — Al Duwadimi
From the sands of Morocco to the dunes of the Empty Quarter, the GPX team's adventure with us has been nothing short of exceptional.
The discovery of rally-raid for this team, seasoned in the world of circuit racing and history, went wonderfully well. The crews crossed the broken tracks of the first week of the Dakar with disconcerting ease and are now driving their Land Cruisers in the dunes of eastern Saudi Arabia.
They are just outside the top 20 overall, out of more than 96 entrants, including a number of ultra-specialists. Well done to them, and now keep pushing all the way to the finish line, we're counting on you!
January 12th — Al Duwadimi
Oops... They did it again!
Valentin and Mathieu score their third stage win in the H3 category on this Dakar 2025! Their sparkling duo flew over the dunes...
And as good news never comes alone, they are back in the lead of the category in the general standings. It's a performance that delights the whole Compagnie Saharienne team around them, and joins that of our other drivers, who made up 30% of the day's top 10, all categories combined!
A magnificent day that will live long in the memory.
➡️ The exceptional race of the Compagnie Saharienne 100 DKR (click here) ⬅️


January 13th — Riyadh
The days go by on the Dakar and seem to flow with all the ease in the world for Sanjay Takale. With his unfailing composure, and faithfully accompanied by his Swiss navigator-knife Maxime Raud, the pair complete the special stages with a precision and desire that never ceases to grow.
A rally legend in Asia, Sanjay ventured into rally-raid. Good for him, he quickly assimilated the specificities of the discipline, thanks to Maxime and the team, and is enjoying himself enormously at the wheel of his Land Cruiser 78 DKR: 7th and 10th on the stage (all categories combined) over the last few days.
The two even took the time to help other competitors in the dunes. What elegance, gentlemen!
January 15th — Empty Quarter
Just enormous!
Out of 4 sectors of racing today, that's three outright victories for Toyota Compagnie Saharienne, with three different cars.
Another day that will live long in our memories, and the hard work of the crews and staff has been rewarded.


January 17th — Empty Quarter
Dakar over. What a proud achievement!
5 Toyotas at the start, 5 Toyotas at the finish.
And with an unprecedented level of performance: 25% of the top 20 of the Dakar Classic is occupied by Compagnie Saharienne vehicles.
The team, staff and customers combined, gave an exceptional performance on this Dakar 2025, full of desire, passion and sharing. We can't find the words to describe the feeling when we were waiting for our crews at the finish line, before falling into their arms... So we'll leave you with these two photos, just long enough for us to come to our senses and share even more memories with you!
➡️ The Compagnie Saharienne finish and podium video (click here) ⬅️