Tosha Schareina shines on Dakar’s fourth stage to climb up to second place

There was a shuffle in the overall standings of this year’s Dakar Rally as Tosha Schareina sped across the Saudi Arabian desert to take a hard earned second place on the stage while also mounting a fight back in the overall classification to also be second, just 13’26” behind the leader.

It was a very cold morning for the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders as they headed out of Al Henakiyah onto the marathon stage of this year’s Dakar Rally.  The staggering rock formations on the way to AlUla would provide a technical day on the volcanic rock tracks as they made their way north across the 415km special towards the heart of Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Tosha Schareina managed to keep on top of today’s navigation amongst the winding tracks and stony off-piste sections after starting further down the back from yesterday’s finishing position but he took full advantage of that opportunity to post an impressive second best time of day, just 15 seconds shy of stage winner Daniel Sanders. It was an encouraging day for the Valencian rider who has reaffirmed himself as a strong contender for this Dakar.

It’s not been the best of starts on this Dakar Rally for Adrien Van Beveren as he’s had two crashes with his most recent one yesterday but the Frenchman has valiantly soldiered on to the finish, determined to keep himself amongst the frontrunners.  Today’s stage saw him arrive in AlUla with the fourth fastest time as he now joins the group of his teammates Skyler Howes, Ricky Brabec and Pablo Quintanilla vying for a podium spot in the general standings.

Pablo Quintanilla arrived exhausted to the marathon bivouac in eighth as he rode for 400km of special stage with arm pump, as did Skyler Howes who was also surprised to suffer with too it after four hours of riding.  It was a not the best of days for the American as he lost twenty minutes to drop him 27’01” back off Sanders.

The ups and downs of rally-raids were a reminder to Ricky Brabec today as he opened the way from just three kilometres into the stage meaning it was a long day out front for the 2024 Dakar Rally winner and but for a mistake with just 15 kilometres remaining, it saw him unfortunately lose nearly twenty minutes. Although remaining upbeat and happy to get to the end of the marathon stage he is now 29’13” off the overall leader in fifth.  Setting off in 17th position to complete the marathon stage tomorrow, he will look to gain the upper hand of a later start slot to win back some precious minutes.

Upon arrival at AlUla the riders had just 30 minutes to work on their bikes before they’re tucked away in Parc Fermé for the night when the marathon stage will resume as the route heads east to Ha’il on a 428km special stage.  After what has been a very long week after the 48 Hour Chrono and this marathon stage, the riders will be able to relax with the rest day on Friday and enable the Monster Energy Honda HRC to give the Honda CRF450 RALLY a full service.

Rally GP Results – Stage 4

Rally GP Provisional Standings after Stage 4