Romanian wins Dakar Rally in bike and quads category

Romanian rider Emanuel Gyenes won first place in the “Original by Motul” category in the 2025 Dakar Rally, placing 20th overall in the motorcycle category.

The world-famous Dakar Rally covers several thousand kilometers over 10 to 15 days taking place in Saudi Arabia. The category won by the Romanian refers to bikes and quads competitors racing without any kind of assistance.

"I don't think I've ever fought so hard for a few seconds as I did in the last 30 kilometers of the rally's final special stage. We had a mass start, and I started well - I was in the lead. But on the dunes, I fell a few seconds behind Lorenzo Santolino. Later, I went after Benji (Benjamin Melot). He was riding well, and I knew I couldn't overtake him on the dunes,” said Gyenes in a Facebook post.

Throughout the race, the Romanian’s bike was damaged.

“It’s incredible how intense this final stage was - the most intense I've experienced in 15 Dakars. It was 14 days of tough racing, a challenging edition with many cold mornings, and I’m happy that I finished and managed well with the six sets of tires we were allowed to use this year,” he added.

The final stage of the competition took place on Friday in Shubaytah, covering a distance of 131 kilometers (61 km special stage).

Emanuel Gyenes (Autonet Motorcycle Team) finished 20th overall in the motorcycle category at this year's Dakar Rally. However, he secured first place in the Original by Motul category. The motorcycle competition was won by Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM).

(Photo source: Emanuel Gyenes Mani on Facebook)