The start of a new week and the final one of the Dakar Rally, delivered a formidable challenge for the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders, with today featuring the longest special stage of the 2026 event.

After arriving in Wadi ad-Dawasir yesterday, competitors faced a demanding loop to and from the bivouac there.  Fast tracks through mountainous valleys combined with a vast playground of dunes in the spectacular Dawasir Valley made up the bulk of the 483 km special stage, with a brief stretch of rockier terrain before a high-speed, sandy run to the finish.

Provisional overall runner-up Ricky Brabec approached the stage with a clear strategy for the opening days of the final week.  Starting tenth, he benefited from having tracks to follow, a factor that paid dividends as he consistently topped the timing checkpoints.  At one stage, he built a gap of more than two minutes over Daniel Sanders as strong winds added another layer of difficulty.  However, eventual stage winner Luciano Benavides capitalised on the bonus time awarded for opening the stage, and Brabec ultimately finished third, five minutes adrift.  The reshuffle in the standings drops the American to third overall, now 4’47” behind leader Benavides.

Tosha Schareina continues his push back toward the front after last week’s penalty. Finishing fourth, nearly ten minutes off the winning pace, he was visibly deflated at the end of the gruelling day.  The gap to the overall lead now stands at fifteen minutes as he works to close in on the provisional podium.

Adrien Van Beveren’s recent bike setup changes on his Honda CRF450 RALLY continue to pay off.  After finishing third yesterday, the Frenchman was only a couple of minutes behind Schareina today, despite a slight detour along the route.  While he now sits over an hour down overall, Van Beveren was pleased to have regained confidence and a positive feeling on the bike, with a renewed focus on riding fast.

Skyler Howes maintained his steady progress despite being caught out by challenging sandstorm conditions.  Unfazed, he delivered another consistent performance with a top-six finish, just behind Schareina and Van Beveren.  Remaining fifth overall, Howes will be aiming for a stronger result tomorrow as the first part of the marathon stage begins, while hoping to avoid the tyre issues that troubled him during last week’s marathon.

Tomorrow marks the opening leg of the marathon stage.  Having already endured one earlier in the rally, tyre management will once again be crucial, having proven to be the source of the biggest surprises.  With a total of 541 km to cover, the distance may be shorter than recent stages, but reaching the marathon bivouac north of Bisha without issue is vital.  Once there, riders will again be without assistance and face another night camping under the stars.

Ruben Faria – General Manager: 

“It was another fast stage again. We thought it would have worked for us to start further back, in reality it was a really fast stage with not too much navigation and the riders that started at the front did a good job to stay out front. Skyler finished in sixth as he made a small navigation mistake, however, it was quite a good day for him. Adrien also rode a good stage and was amongst the frontrunners, but he made a mistake, more or less in the middle of the stage and he lost around four minutes to finish in fifth. Not up to his usual pace, Tosha didn’t feel comfortable with the bike and could only manage fourth. Third placed Ricky did a strong stage and he will start in a good position tomorrow for the first day of the second marathon stage. There’s still five days to go and of course we want more, we want to win. We have Ricky who is in a good group, he can win the Dakar and we will do the maximum to make this happen.”

Ricky Brabec (9) – Stage: 3rd and Overall: 3rd : 

“Today’s stage I felt great, made no mistakes, rode as best and as fast as I could all day. It was another fast stage, near the halfway point there started to be a little bit of wind, actually a lot of wind. It was so windy, the top of the ground was covered in dirt, like one metre high, just blowing sand across, which made it a little bit difficult to see. Overall it was a fun stage as we had a mix of everything, a little bit of rocks, not as much as I would like, some fun sand dunes too, so it was a fun stage to ride. I rode by myself all day so maybe tomorrow I can catch up with the group in front of me and ride in a group.”