Yasir Seaidan is making his first Dakar appearance in the Challenger class after securing the 2024 W2RC title in SSV. The fight for the W2RC was a war of attrition. His rivals failed to complete rounds, but so did he on two occasions out of five.
The Saudi was eager to bounce back in Argentina after withdrawing from a stage in Portugal, but his turbo gave up the ghost in Córdoba in the very first stage. His lead had all but evaporated by the time that the series came to Morocco, but he hung on for dear life to claim the title by just 2 points over Nicolás Cavigliasso! His erstwhile rival won the Challenger stage today and continued on the right track to get his own back.
Seaidan got a new vehicle in 2025, following in the footsteps of Rokas Baciuška, who managed to add a Challenger crown to his SSV silverware. The Saudi was convinced that this would allow him to turn the page on past disappointments, but today, steering issues forced him to take the road back to the bivouac following a failed repair attempt. His dream of winning the Dakar will have to wait. “Bad things come in threes”, said a despondent Mickael Metge, his co-driver, at the bivouac. Yet, if the 2024 season taught us anything, it is that mechanical problems are not enough to stop the Franco-Saudi duo.
