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.

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.

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.

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

Toyota's Henk Lategan dominated stage eight of the Dakar Rally on Monday, and despite a speed violation, the win extended his overall lead after the previous day's chaotic race had virtually wiped out his advantage over closest rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi to win the Dakar Rally when he completed the race on home sand on Friday. After 13 days of desert racing and more than 5,000 kilometers of specials, Al-Rajhi beat home Henk Lategan of South Africa by less than four minutes,

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.The Overdrive pilot held onto his overnight lead to beat South Africa's Henk Lategan in a Toyota by 3min 57sec with Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden third in his Ford,

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.