Five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah has been stripped of a smashing stage win in the Dakar Rally because of a missing spare wheel in the Saudi desert.

Nineteen-year-old Saood Variawa of South Africa became the youngest top-class driver to win a stage in the Dakar Rally.

(Reuters) -Nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb is out of the Dakar Rally after he rolled his Dacia in the Saudi desert on Tuesday as the race continued to take a toll of the big names after the exit of 2024 winner Carlos Sainz.

Carlos Sainz's defence of his Dakar Rally title ended prematurely on Monday when the Spaniard was forced to pull out after the marathon 48-hour stage won by Lithuanian driver Rokas Baciuska."It's the end of the adventure for four-time Dakar winner and defending champion Carlos Sainz and his co-driver Lucas Cruz.

Dakar Rally drivers and riders recount Stage 2 of the event, where competitors took two days to traverse nearly 1000 km.

American driver Seth Quintero was promoted to first place on the opening stage of the Dakar Rally after helping a crashed rival on Saturday.

Saudi Arabian Yazeed al-Rajhi won Wednesday's fourth stage of the Dakar Rally, in which five-time winner Nasser al-Attiyah dropped to seventh overall. The special stages between Al Henakiyah and Al Ula in Saudi Arabia included 415km of racing.