Nasser Al-Attiyah bounced back from a difficult showing on Monday to claim victory on Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally, while a puncture for Toyota driver Henk Lategan promoted Yazeed Al-Rajhi to the overall lead.

Dacia’s Al-Attiyah and Ford rival Mattias Ekstrom initially duelled for victory in the 357km test between Riyadh and Haradh, with the two trading the lead in the first part of the day.

Qatar driver Al-Attiyah held the early advantage in his Dacia Sandrider before Ekstrom flexed his muscle to jump to the front 81km into the stage.

The five-time Dakar winner retook the lead at the following checkpoint and began to stretch his advantage in the second half of the day, pulling out a lead of over a minute with less than 100km to run.

As Ekstrom dropped further back, Al-Attiyah continued to chip away from his rivals, eventually reaching the finish line with a 2m47s margin over X-raid Mini’s Guillaume de Mevius, who moved up to second.

The Belgian stood third for much of the all-gravel stage on Tuesday, but leapfrogged Ekstrom at the 217km mark to secure his best finish of 2025 since his victory on Stage 6.

Meanwhile, Overdrive’s Al-Rajhi put in a solid performance in a customer Toyota to take third, demoting Ekstrom’s Ford to fourth place.

Al-Rajhi team-mate’s Rokas Backiuska rounded off the top five, ahead of the other Ford of debutant Mitch Guthrie Jr.

#201 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Yazeed Al Rajhi, Timo Gottschalk
© Autosport.com

#201 Overdrive Racing Toyota: Yazeed Al Rajhi, Timo Gottschalk

Photo by: A.S.O.

No factory Toyotas finished inside the top 10, as Guy Botterill crashed out at the 272km mark and Lategan suffered an early puncture that cost him seven minutes to fix.

The South African haemorrhaged more time later in the stage, eventually finishing 16 minutes back in 11th place – just a day after he had taken victory on Stage 8.

His troubles allowed Al-Rajhi to snatch the lead in the Ultimate class with just three stages remaining, the Saudi driver moving 7m09s clear at the top of the standings.

Ekstrom continues to hold third place on Ford’s maiden factory outing, with Al-Attiyah now less than a minute behind in the last-remaining Dacia.

Guthrie Jr sits half an hour adrift in fifth place, while Matthieu Serradori has strengthened his grip on sixth position despite a low-key outing on Tuesday.

Dakar 2025 – Results after Stage 9 (Top 10)

Sports entrepreneur and Chairman of Gombe Athletics Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has urged the federal government not to release the proposed N78 billion budgeted for the National Sports Commission (NSC).

He argued that the commission has the capacity to raise funds independently to drive the sports economy, particularly e-sports, without relying on taxpayers’ money.

In a statement shared on his social media handle, Gombe criticized the allocation, warning that previous funds earmarked for sports development were mismanaged. He called for reforms and accountability before any public funds are released to the commission.

“Sports economies across the world are not funded with public money but driven by private investments,” Gara Gombe stated. “I have read reports about the N78 billion allocation, and sadly, the same people who celebrated past budgets that were squandered are jubilating again. This is a recipe for disaster.”

He referenced the failed N3 billion sponsorship deal between SuperSport and the League Management Company (LMC) as an example of financial mismanagement in the sector. According to him, the lack of accountability in the use of such funds has hindered sports development in Nigeria.

Gombe said, “The same people who promised they could attract sponsors are celebrating N78 billion. If they truly have the capacity, let them use their contacts to raise the money instead of relying on public funds. The NSC must be sanitised before any funds are released.”

He also emphasized the need to reduce government funding for sports and proposed the re-establishment of the Team Nigeria initiative, managed by trustees, as a more effective model for raising and managing funds.

“Efforts should be made to re-establish Team Nigeria with appointed trustees to manage funds. Government funding should be transitional and eventually phased out to encourage private sector investment in sports,” he said.

The sports advocate expressed concern over Nigeria’s lack of world-class sports infrastructure despite previous government interventions.

He specifically criticized the $1 million reportedly sourced from Aliko Dangote by former Sports Minister Sunday Dare for renovating the Abuja Stadium, noting that the facility and others across the country still fail to meet international standards.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has said Kyle Walker will only leave the Premier League club under the right conditions.

Last week, Walker informed Guardiola he wants to leave the Etihad to play abroad.

Although Guardiola is willing to let the player go, he has now said it depends on the market and the agreement between all parties involved.

He said: “He wants to go… now depends on the market and the agreement between all parties. He’s a top class player!”

Walker could join AC Milan as early as this January transfer window.

According to football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, the Serie A club are in talks to sign the 34-year-old.

The England international had attracted attention from Bayern Munich two years ago, when Thomas Tuchel was in charge of the Bundesliga club.

But he ended up staying at City after discussions with Guardiola.