HOME > Latest News > 2025 > Issue #12
Issue #12:January 16, 2025
The Dakar Rally 2025 is now in its final stages. On the 15th, Stage 10 was held between Haradh and Shubaytah, marking the start of the stages in the "Empty Quarter," the most challenging area which features a relentless series of highly complex dunes.
On this day, the competitors traveled 520 km from the bivouac in Haradh to Shubaytah via a liaison (transfer section), and the 118 km SS (Special Stage) started about 5 km east of the bivouac. The terrain consisted entirely of soft-sanded dunes with a level of difficulty to match.
For TLC in the Production Car (Stock) category, Akira Miura and Jean-Michel Polato in Car #500 finished smoothly without getting stuck even once. They finished 82nd in the Car category and 1st in the Production Car (Stock) category.
As for car #501, a strange noise was heard from the front of the car towards the end of the SS, and they stopped. It was a problem with the bolt in a part of the drivetrain, and although they applied a temporary fix by tying it with a belt before starting up again, the problem wasn't resolved. About 10 km later, they rechecked the area and found oil leaking from the drivetrain component. They stopped the engine as a precaution and were towed by a truck, finishing 138th in the Car category and 2nd in the Production Car (Stock) category. The mechanics were eagerly waiting for them to arrive at the bivouac, and as soon as the car arrived, they began repair work.
As a result, Car #500 has overtaken Car #501 in the cumulative rankings up to this day. Car #500 is now 88th overall in the Car category and 1st in the Production Car (Stock) category, while Car #501 is 91st overall and 2nd in the category.
Shubaytah is a town in southeastern Saudi Arabia, near the UAE (United Arab Emirates) border. It is located at the edge of the Rub' al Khali desert, known as the "Empty Quarter," a harsh dune area familiar to the Dakar Rally. In this year's Dakar, a three-day series of stages have been set up around Shubaytah from the 15th to the final day. Stage 11 on the 16th will be a 130 km loop (for production cars and trucks) starting from the same location. The final stage on the 17th will be another loop, with a distance of 62 km.
Driver Miura: Today's dunes were not as difficult as I thought they’d be. I'm glad we were able to keep the vehicle in good condition before tomorrow's loop, which is expected to be the toughest part.