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.

Ford secured its second straight stage win at the Dakar Rally on Thursday, with Mattias Ekstrom following up Nani Roma's Stage 10 win by besting Nasser Al-Attiyah -- his rival for the final podium place -- by 41 seconds on the dunes of Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter.

Rajhi, who trailed leader Henk Lategan (Toyota) by 2min 27sec going into Thursday's stage, not only caught his rival but opened up a significant gap.

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.

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 Wednesday. South Africa's Lategan leads his Saudi rival by 2 1/2 minutes going into the 11th and penultimate stage in the Empty Quarter dunes.

Saudi Arabia's local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi is in the overall lead for the first time at this year's Dakar Rally after finishing third in stage nine on Tuesday, taking over from Henk Lategan who suffered two punctures.