A new year heralds the start of the 2025 World Rally Raid Championship with the phenomenal Dakar Rally kicking off the arduous and tough five round season for Monster Energy Honda HRC.
Back in Saudi Arabia for the sixth time, the Dakar will run from January 3rd to the 17th covering an incredible total of 7,805 kilometres including the hardest 5,209 kilometres of special stages against the clock that will stand between the riders and the top step of the podium as they make their way from Bisha to Shubaytah. From the outset, the 48 Hour Chrono which first pushed competitors to their limits in 2024 returns with a ‘bang’ early on in the 2025 Dakar with competitors tackling one huge stage over two days and 1,057 kms that will include sleeping a night under the stars, no team assistance overnight and simple food rations.
This 48 Hour Chrono stage truly embodies the early days of the Dakar in Africa in order to test their resilience early on, before an epic marathon stage upon their return to the bivouac. With the epic Empty Quarter dunes to contend with during the rally, on the final day of action there will be a mass start, reminiscent of the Lac Rose stage in the Paris Dakar, which will not only be spectacular but will provide a final showdown like no other as the scramble for the iconic Bedouin trophy comes to its conclusion.
Monster Energy Honda HRC will field five riders aboard the Honda CRF450 RALLY including defending champion Ricky Brabec who will be on the hunt for a third victory at the world’s toughest rally. Fighting to be fit after a fall last time out at the season ending Rallye Du Maroc, the experienced American has been putting in the hours to make sure he’s in top form when he rolls up to the start line. He will be joined by the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship runner up, Adrien Van Beveren, who stood on the Dakar Rally podium in 2024 with a third place finish. Heading into his tenth Dakar, the 2024 48 Hour Chrono stage victor is aiming to cross the line at Shubaytah as the fastest rider and write his name in the history books alongside fellow French Honda riders Cyril Neveu and Gilles Lalay.
Tosha Schareina, the prologue king of the 2024 season, will be looking to convert his speed to a result the Spaniard knows he has within him. Dakar last year was cruel to Schareina after he crashed out early on but putting that disappointment behind him, he then went on to win the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, the Rallye Du Maroc and was runner up at the Desafío Ruta 40. These results put him in the top three of the World Rally-Raid Championship in his first full season.
Also competing in his second Dakar Rally with Monster Energy Honda HRC, Skyler Howes is now back to full fitness after picking up an injury back in the summer, which ruled him out of the final round of the 2024 season in Morocco. Back for his seventh attempt on Dakar, the American is no stranger to the podium having grabbed the final spot in 2023 after leading for six days, so he’ll want to be back amongst the frontrunners in Saudi Arabia.
It’ll be Dakar Rally number 13 for veteran Pablo Quintanilla who despite finishing runner up twice in 2020 and 2022 has never taken the coveted top prize. The 38-year-old two-time World Cross Country Rally title winner is the most experienced rider in the Rally GP class and will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season.
The team will converge at Bisha in the South Western part of Saudi Arabia for the start of this year’s 47th edition of the Dakar Rally where the route will take them across the most spectacular and at times most challenging landscapes in the world of sport, let alone in the World Rally-Raid Championship. They’ll contend with colossal dunes, searing heat, freezing cold, huge rocks and exhausting days as they make their way North to AlUla before heading East towards the vast dunes and the finish line at Shubaytah.
The Monster Energy Honda HRC riders will be ready for the opening Prologue on Friday 3rd January where 29 kilometres of timed action awaits.
