Yazeed Al-Rajhi is set to win the Dakar Rally on home soil in the Saudi desert after retaking the lead from South Africa’s Henk Lategan on Thursday.

Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al-Rajhi will duel in the Saudi sand for their first Dakar Rally title after swapping the lead for a second straight day

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan regained the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday with a two minutes and 27 seconds advantage over Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi going into the penultimate stage.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi made history on Friday becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.

Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi has taken advantage of a miserable stage by Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi opened up a commanding overall lead of six minutes and 11 seconds over second-placed Henk Lategan in the Dakar Rally, after the South African, who led by over two minutes before Thursday,

Despite his best efforts in the dunes of Saudi Arabia’s notorious Empty Quarter on Thursday, Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings lost the Dakar Rally lead which they are highly unlikely to regain with the finish line in sight.

South African Henk Lategan (Toyota) consolidated his lead atop the driver standings of the Dakar Rally by winning the eighth stage on Monday.

SHUBAYTAH, SAUDI ARABIA (Reuters) -Local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi secured his first Dakar title on Friday, finishing the 12-stage rally almost four minutes ahead of his closest competitor Henk Lategan, while Red Bull KTM's Daniel Sanders maintained his lead to win in the motorcycle category.