Ales Loprais, alongside his skilled teammates David Kripal and Darek Rodewald, achieved a decisive victory in Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2025. Piloting their Iveco Powerstar for the InstaTrade Loprais Team De Rooy FPT, the team’s latest success has put them within striking distance of Mitchel van den Brink, who currently holds second place in the truck category.
Stage 9, a grueling stretch from Riyadh to Haradh, covered 589 kilometers in total, with 357 kilometers dedicated to a highly selective timed section. The course offered no reprieve, combining intense high-speed segments with demanding navigation and technical sections full of sharp rocks and uneven terrain. Despite these challenges, Loprais and his crew once again proved their mettle, securing their third stage victory of the rally by finishing 1 minute and 29 seconds ahead of van den Brink. Their performance has set up a nail-biting battle for the runner-up spot in the overall standings.
“The opening part of the selective stage was all about raw speed—absolutely flat out,” Loprais explained. “With trucks being released onto the course every thirty seconds, the dust quickly became a serious hazard, especially at those breakneck speeds.”
As the stage progressed, the terrain shifted from smooth, fast tracks to punishing rocky sections that tested both skill and endurance. “The second part was incredibly rocky, and visibility was poor due to the dust. David’s sharp reaction in one particularly tricky area allowed us to navigate out of a canyon perfectly. From that point, we flew toward the finish line,” Loprais added. “It was a tough day, but the team worked seamlessly. David was exceptional today.”
Kripal echoed these sentiments, highlighting the mix of speed and difficulty. “The organizers had warned us about the fast sections, but they didn’t fully prepare us for just how rugged some parts of the route would be. Between the sharp rocks and rough roads, it was a true test of both the truck and the team.”
One moment that stood out was an encounter with Vaidotas Zala. “In the early part of the stage, Zala overtook us, forcing us to drive in his dust cloud for a while. However, when he suffered a puncture, we regained our position,” Loprais explained. “Later, during neutralization, we ended up mixed with the buggies, which slowed us down as we had to repeatedly overtake them over the last 100 kilometers.”
The stage concluded with a difficult navigational segment. “We managed to catch up with Martin Macik toward the end, but he got lost in the final stretch,” Rodewald shared. “The last 50 kilometers were especially tricky, requiring every ounce of focus and precision, but we pushed through. Finishing first among the trucks was a great feeling and a reward for the entire team’s effort.”
Currently, Loprais, Kripal, and Rodewald hold third place in the overall truck standings, trailing van den Brink by just 4 minutes and 56 seconds. With such a small margin separating the competitors, the battle for second place promises to be a highlight of the remaining stages.
On January 15, the rally continues with Stage 10, a challenging leg from Haradh to Shubaytah. Participants will face a 635-kilometer route, including a daunting 500-kilometer liaison section leading to a relatively short but intensely challenging 115-kilometer selective stage in the formidable Empty Quarter dunes.
LOPRAIS TATRA TEAM & THE DAKAR CLASSIC
Meanwhile, in the Dakar Classic competition, the Loprais Tatra Team finds itself in a fierce rivalry for the top spot in the H2 Truck category. The team of Jiri Husek, Lubomir Dockal, and Dominik Holan, driving the restored Tatra 815 4×4 HAS, began Monday’s stage from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh as the category leaders. However, their advantage over teammates Igor Pazdera, Olga Lounova, and Milan Holan—driving the replica Tatra 815-2 "Puma"—was slim, setting the stage for an intense competition.
Navigator Olga Lounova detailed their strategy: “Starting the stage, we were just 88 points behind the leaders. This was our opportunity to make a move, and we gave it everything.” In the first regularity test, both crews demonstrated incredible precision, earning identical penalty scores of 46 points. However, Pazdera’s team encountered a bottleneck in the second test. “We were stuck behind a slower vehicle in a narrow canyon, unable to overtake, which cost us precious seconds and added penalties,” Lounova explained. “Fortunately, we more than made up for it in the third test, scoring an impressive 150 points in what was one of the day’s most challenging segments.”
The third test’s success was largely due to Lounova’s quick adaptation to updated navigation data provided by the organizers. “The changes to the roadbook were crucial, and Olga’s ability to process and act on them in real time gave us a significant edge,” Pazdera noted.
On the other hand, Husek’s team struggled with the last-minute adjustments to the roadbook. “The updated information was printed in such small text that it was nearly impossible to read while driving on rough terrain,” Husek explained. “We stuck to the original roadbook, which turned out to be a mistake. The organizers admitted some fault in the confusion but haven’t yet resolved the issue, leaving us with 900 penalty points.”
As a result, Pazdera, Lounova, and Milan Holan reclaimed the lead in the H2 Truck category by a margin of 727 points. Their closest competitor, Italian driver Stefano Calzi, remained far behind, with a deficit of over 5,000 points.
Tuesday’s stage from Riyadh to Haradh saw both Loprais Tatra Team crews perform consistently across four regularity tests and one dune challenge. The competition between them remained tight, with Pazdera’s team narrowly outscoring Husek’s by just nine points for the day, slightly extending their overall lead.
