Driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, right, and co-driver Fabian Lurquin of Belgium celebrate on the podium winning the Dakar Rally after the thirteenth stage with a start and finish in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.(AP)

YANBU, Saudi Arabia, Jan 17 (AP): Luciano Benavides exploited a navigation blunder by Ricky Brabec minutes from the finish of the Dakar Rally to sensationally win the motorbike title on Saturday by two seconds - the smallest margin ever.

Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Attiyah safely secured his sixth car title on the 13th and final stage, a flat-out 105-kilometer sprint along the Red Sea coast to Yanbu.

Brabec was hurtling toward his third Dakar victory. While Benavides' KTM was faster in real time, Brabec's Honda was collecting time bonuses for opening the way and extending his overnight lead of 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

Then, seven kilometers from the finish, Brabec took a wrong turn. Benavides didn't. He saw a headlight turn around and slowed to see who it was. When he realized it was Brabec, Benavides knew the "almost impossible” was possible.

"I saw the opportunity, and I took it,” he said. "I felt ready all day. I told everyone at the start of the stage, ‘This Dakar is for me.’”

Benavides finished second on the stage to teammate Edgar Canet, who won his third stage of this Dakar. When Brabec arrived 3:22 behind Benavides, the Argentine's team lifted him on their shoulders and shouted "Lu-chan-oh, Lu-chan-oh.”

"It's unreal,” Benavides said. "Two seconds after two weeks and almost 8,000 kilometers is hard to understand.”