Santolino achieves the first Spanish victory in the Dakar in the motorcycle category

Just a few hours after Carlos Sainz’s abandonment, Spain smiles at the 2025 Dakar Rally. The Salamancan Lorenzo Santolino He debuted his personal record in the test during the third stage of the motorcycling category. The pilot won a hard day of 327 kilometers and surrounded by sand storms. He needed seven assists in the competition to achieve his first victory.

Santolino led the route during the first 70 kilometers, at which point the South African caught up with him Charlie Cox. Both had an exciting duel among the dunes, but with 100 meters left to reach the finish line, the African made a mistake when crossing a river and the Spaniard had no mercy.

“Come on. Finally the stage victory! Incredible to have won today. It was a very technical stage, with many stones until kilometer 100 where I tried to attack a lot. I attacked a lot during the day, taking some risks… but it was worth it,” he said after the victory.