German co-driver Timo Gottschalk has won the prestigious Dakar Rally for the second time. The Berliner and his pilot Yazeed Al-Rajhi successfully defended their overall lead on the final day and celebrated their first shared triumph at the desert marathon in Saudi Arabia. Gottschalk celebrated his first success in 2011 alongside Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah. “That was definitely my toughest Dakar Rally so far. After the first week I already felt as if the whole ‘Dakar’ was behind me,” said Gottschalk: “Physically and mentally the organizers pushed us to the limits this time, and sometimes even beyond them. Celebrating this win with Yazeed is one of the greatest moments of my career and hard to put into words. And we really deserve it.”
The first Saudi Dakar champion Al-Rajhi thanked his German co-driver. “I am very, very happy. We made history. Timo helped me a lot. He has a lot of experience,” said Al-Rajhi. On the 61 kilometers of the twelfth and final stage, the duo lost over two minutes to their South African Toyota brand colleagues Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings. The overall victory after a total of 4906 kilometers in 14 days was no longer in danger with a lead of ultimately 3:57 minutes. The day’s victory went to brand colleague Lucas Moraes.
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