Empty Quarter dunes prepare Monster Energy Honda HRC for the ultimate Dakar showdown
Dakar Rally in Saudi ArabiaToday’s timed section on Dakar 2025 may have been just 116km long but it was the 520km liaison beforehand that was the first task for the riders as at 4am they headed out of the Haradh bivouac.
Not only was the huge road section an arduous task to start the day but stage 10 was going to see them come face to face with the mighty Empty Quarter dunes as they journeyed across to Shubaytah.
With eight hours of total of riding time on their Honda CRF450 RALLY bikes today it was Skyler Howes who emerged as the top Monster Energy Honda HRC rider following his incident free pinpoint run through the spectacular dunes as he made sure to avoid unnecessary risks. This paid dividends for the America as he crossed the line as the third best Rally GP rider on the day.
Following the long road section in the dark and then into the dawn, Ricky Brabec kept within touching distance of the quickest rider in what was a warm up for tomorrow’s truly huge dune bashing. By the time he’d arrived in Shubaytah the 2020 and 2024 Dakar Rally champion ceded a little time to be fifth, 7’49” off Rally GP stage winner Rui Gonçalves. He’s now ten minutes off the final podium position but in spite of that, the experienced American will look forward to showing his world leading skills in the dunes tomorrow when the fatigue of the past gruelling two weeks must be put to one side as the penultimate stage reveals itself.
After a cold ride during the liaison, seventh placed finisher Tosha Schareina bounced back from his crash yesterday and although he had some arm pump issues he only gave 1’46” to overall leader Sanders. More importantly he’ll start behind him on tomorrow’s pivotal stage eleven with the Spaniard still believing he’s in with a chance of overthrowing the Australian for his first Dakar Rally victory. 16’31” now separates them as the dogfight in the dunes tomorrow will be a test of their nerves as the final day approaches on the world’s biggest motorsport event.
Adrien Van Beveren has won the Enduropale Le Touquet beach race three times so the Empty Quarter suits the sand specialist, however, as the second rider out on the special it proved a bit trickier for the Frenchman and he could only manage eighth place today. He’ll look to benefit from a lower start position to make up some time tomorrow and hold on to his provisional third place on the Dakar podium.
Tomorrow’s penultimate stage of this year’s Dakar Rally is the big one: 308km of dunes against the clock through the vast expanse of dunes that is the Empty Quarter that is larger than the size of France and covers Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. It is home to dunes rising as high as 200 metres and is the largest sand surface in the world so the sand specialists will take advantage of the terrain on a day where there are sure to be dramatic changes in the overall standings.
Today’s stage ten was short but intense, the strategy was important and we executed it, but then so did the other riders. The starting positions we have for tomorrow with Tosha and Adrien aren’t too bad, although we didn’t have the time gap that we wanted between them to Daniel Sanders. There is only 12 minutes but it will depend on how it goes tomorrow and if Daniel gets to the front. We will make sure Tosha knows where the limit is as it’s the last day to gain time because on stage 12 they will start in waves, 15 riders at a time, so that means it will be difficult, almost impossible to win back any minutes. Tomorrow it is possible though, it won’t be easy but Tosha will go out there and give his best performance.
Today’s stage ten was short but intense, the strategy was important and we executed it, but then so did the other riders. The starting positions we have for tomorrow with Tosha and Adrien aren’t too bad, although we didn’t have the time gap that we wanted between them to Daniel Sanders. There is only 12 minutes but it will depend on how it goes tomorrow and if Daniel gets to the front. We will make sure Tosha knows where the limit is as it’s the last day to gain time because on stage 12 they will start in waves, 15 riders at a time, so that means it will be difficult, almost impossible to win back any minutes. Tomorrow it is possible though, it won’t be easy but Tosha will go out there and give his best performance.
It was an early morning, we got up at three o’clock to start the liaison at four. It was a six and a half hour highway ride on a dirt bike so experiencing the vibrations, cold weather and the sunrise, it was cool but it was a long morning. The special was only 100km, 100% of that was dunes, so not much to do today, it was more or less for the gameplay and we participated a bit in that. Tomorrow is the final push and we’ll see what happens, the podium is still kind of within reach but the first week hindered us a little bit. At the end of the rally we’ll just know we did our best.
It was an early morning, we got up at three o’clock to start the liaison at four. It was a six and a half hour highway ride on a dirt bike so experiencing the vibrations, cold weather and the sunrise, it was cool but it was a long morning. The special was only 100km, 100% of that was dunes, so not much to do today, it was more or less for the gameplay and we participated a bit in that. Tomorrow is the final push and we’ll see what happens, the podium is still kind of within reach but the first week hindered us a little bit. At the end of the rally we’ll just know we did our best.
We had like eight hours on the seat today and only one hundred kilometres of racing, so that’s a long day. It’s good to be down here in the Empty Quarter though, the weather is much nicer and the dunes are fun to ride. I didn’t really push today, didn’t take any risks, just rode out there and wanted to make sure I got through the stage. I had a good day with no incidents, I know a lot of the other guys are playing games to have a good starting position for tomorrow, so it is what it is. I’m looking forward to just getting through this race, nice and clean, so we’ll see how we go.
We had like eight hours on the seat today and only one hundred kilometres of racing, so that’s a long day. It’s good to be down here in the Empty Quarter though, the weather is much nicer and the dunes are fun to ride. I didn’t really push today, didn’t take any risks, just rode out there and wanted to make sure I got through the stage. I had a good day with no incidents, I know a lot of the other guys are playing games to have a good starting position for tomorrow, so it is what it is. I’m looking forward to just getting through this race, nice and clean, so we’ll see how we go.
Today we had again a really long 520km liaison. I woke up at 3am so it’s been a long day, the small stage though was a good warm up for tomorrow.
Today we had again a really long 520km liaison. I woke up at 3am so it’s been a long day, the small stage though was a good warm up for tomorrow.
It was pretty good in the beginning, I had a bit of arm pump but we were so cold after 500km of liaison. It was a good warm up in the dunes though. I tried to push a bit but I wanted to be ready for the big adventure tomorrow, over 300km of dunes to come, but we’re going all in and we will fight.
It was pretty good in the beginning, I had a bit of arm pump but we were so cold after 500km of liaison. It was a good warm up in the dunes though. I tried to push a bit but I wanted to be ready for the big adventure tomorrow, over 300km of dunes to come, but we’re going all in and we will fight.
Rally GP Result - Stage 10
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GONÇALVES Rui | 19 | POR | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | Sherco | 02:01:23 |
2 | SVITKO Stefan | 142 | SLO | Slovnaft Rally Team | KTM | + 03:50 |
3 | HOWES Skyler | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 04:39 |
4 | SANDERS Daniel | AUS | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | + 07:02 | |
5 | BRABEC Ricky | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 07:49 |
6 | BENAVIDES Luciano | 1 | ARG | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | + 08:32 |
7 | SCHAREINA Tosha | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 08:48 |
8 | VAN BEVEREN Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 09:05 |
9 | CORNEJO FLORIMO José Ignacio | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 10:07 |
10 | SANTOLINO Lorenzo | 15 | SPA | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | Sherco | + 01:10:37 |
Rally GP Provisional Standings After Stage 10
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SANDERS Daniel | AUS | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 49:53:59 | |
2 | SCHAREINA Tosha | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 16:31 |
3 | VAN BEVEREN Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 22:24 |
4 | BENAVIDES Luciano | 1 | ARG | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | + 29:14 |
5 | BRABEC Ricky | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 32:18 |
6 | HOWES Skyler | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 36:16 |
7 | CORNEJO FLORIMO José Ignacio | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 58:28 |
8 | SVITKO Stefan | 142 | SLO | Slovnaft Rally Team | KTM | + 02:10:07 |
9 | GONÇALVES Rui | 19 | POR | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | Sherco | + 02:43:48 |
10 | SANTOLINO Lorenzo | 15 | SPA | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | Sherco | + 03:52:22 |
