Argentinian Kevin Benavides (Odyssey Academy) took first place in Stage 12 of the Dakar Rally in the Challenger category, allowing him to climb to the ninth position in the general classification. Benavides, a two-time champion in the motorcycle category, recorded a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 52 seconds, which was 2 minutes and 15 seconds faster than his runner-up, Saudi Arabia's Danial Akeel (Odyssey Academy), according to the Argentine News Agency. Thanks to this strong result in the stage that linked Al Henakiyah with Yanbu, Benavides moved up one position in the standings and is now ninth. Meanwhile, fellow Argentine Nicolás Cavigliasso (Vertical Motorsport) finished fourth in the stage and remains in third place in the general classification, 37 minutes and 45 seconds behind the leader, Spain's Pau Navarro (Odyssey Academy). González Ferioli won the stage 12 in the SSV category In the SSV category, Argentine Jeremías González Ferioli (Can-Am) claimed the victory with a time of 3 hours, 51 minutes, and 36 seconds, moving up from sixth to fifth in the overall standings. The leader in the general classification is American Brock Heger, who has over an hour lead on his closest rival and is already set to celebrate his championship win this Saturday. Zala settled the matter in the trucks category Lithuanian Vaidotas Zala (Nordis Team) secured second place in Stage 12, finishing almost seven minutes behind Dutchman Mitchel Van den Brink (Eurol Rallysport), but it was enough to extend his lead in the general classification over his closest rival, Czech driver Ales Loprais (Instatrade Loprais Team), by just over 20 minutes.
