Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Ricky Brabec claimed his first stage victory of this year’s Dakar Rally, leading a one-two finish alongside teammate Tosha Schareina.
Stage six took the riders into the vast dunes of the Qassim region on the longest day of the rally so far, with an early start from Hail towards Riyadh. The challenge began with a 322 km liaison section before the competitors reached the sand, where 326 km of demanding special stage awaited across spectacular dunes. A further 267 km liaison then followed to bring the riders into the Saudi capital.
With the first week of racing drawing to a close, Brabec needed to apply pressure in the overall standings. Despite enduring more than 12 hours in the saddle and a physically demanding stage, the American secured his 12th Dakar stage win upon arrival in Riyadh – the same city where he claimed victory on stage six in 2020. The result moves him to within just 45 seconds of overall leader Daniel Sanders.
After receiving a 10-minute penalty the previous day, Schareina was determined to recover as much time as possible before the rest day. Finishing 1’14” behind Brabec, the Spaniard retains fourth place overall and remains firmly in contention as he targets a push towards the podium in the second week.
Following a challenging marathon stage yesterday, where Skyler Howes focused on tyre management and was not feeling at his best physically, the American welcomed a more manageable day aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY. Despite a minor fall, he finished fourth, four minutes off the lead, and continues to regain ground in sixth overall.
Adrien Van Beveren has endured a difficult start to his Dakar campaign, but stage six’s dune-heavy terrain suited the three-time Le Touquet beach race winner. Although an early navigation error cost him time, a top-five result marked a positive step forward as he found his rhythm in the sand ahead of the final week.
After an exhausting 900 km day on the bike, the riders will enjoy a well-earned rest day in Riyadh tomorrow before turning their attention to the second week of the rally. On Sunday, the Dakar resumes with another demanding stage towards Wadi Ad Dawasir, where 876 km lie in wait.
Ruben Faria
General Manager
The final stage before the rest day was a stage full of dunes. After the penalty yesterday, Tosha, naturally was affected by it, but like with everything, we need to think about the coming days. Today he didn’t feel comfortable on the bike and in my opinion he can do better, although he did recover some time. I believe he can catch up to Daniel Sanders and Ricky next week. A penalty for Sanders today changed the final stage result and because of this Ricky won the stage. The battle for the lead overall is really close, less than one minute separates them. The race is completely open at this halfway point and we believe we can win this race as we are in a strong position. Skyler rode a strong stage finishing in fourth, that is a good result for him and the team. I also believe he can push more and fight with the front runners. Adrien had a better day after his previous stages, today he had a strong stage too and we came away with four riders in the top five. I think that’s a good result. Now, we need to focus on the second week as we have a long way still to go and we need strong results to fight for the win.
Ricky Brabec 9
Stage: 1st Overall: 2nd
It’s cool to win the stage. The day after rest day is a big day so hopefully we get a good opening bonus. It was a long day in the saddle, we left the bivouac at 4am so I’m a little bit tired, my eyes are heavy, however, the body is good. I’m definitely looking forrward to sleeping tonight. The team is looking good, we’re all riding really well, the mechanics are doing a good job. We’ll enjoy our rest day and make a solid push for the second week.
Skyler Howes 10
Stage: 4th Overall: 6th
The stage was good. I had a couple of little issues, I fell over once and made a little navigation error, but I pushed hard, had a decent stage finish and made it to rest day so that’s good. We’re 30 minutes back in the overall now but I’m looking forward to next week.
Adrien Van Beveren 42
Stage: 5th Overall: 7th
The day was OK and I enjoyed the sand. The first part I pushed hard, but then I made a navigation mistake. It was good to start further back, but I followed a rider in front and we went on the wrong side of the fence for one minute and then had to come back. I lost time there and then during the second part of the stage I was pushing hard, but the lines were going really off CAP and I decided to go on my own. I lost quite a bunch of time, I took my decision and I have no regrets, but I think the riders did better on the fast tracks.
Tosha Schareina 68
Stage: 2nd Overall: 4th
It was hard again, we rode for 12 hours on the bike. It was not easy because we did over 300 km all in the dunes. I tried to push but the riders in front were on the gas. I tried to catch time and finally I got second place, making some time up on Luciano Benavides overall. Even after yesterday’s penalty, we are still in the battle for next week.
Rally GP Result – Stage 6
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1 Brabec Ricky 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC 03:41:33
2 Schareina Tosha 68 SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 01:14
3 Sanders Daniel AUS KTM Factory Racing Team + 01:17
4 Howes Skyler 10 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 04:03
5 Van Beveren Adrien 42 FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 05:21
6 Benavides Luciano 1 ARG KTM Factory Racing Team + 05:37
7 Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio 11 CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 12:29
8 Evan Branch Ross 16 BWA Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 13:34
9 Klein Mason 98 USA Hoto Factory Racing + 15:16
10 Canet Edgar 73 SPA KTM Factory Racing Team + 18:21
Rider Standings
Rally GP Provisional Standings After Stage 6
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1 Sanders Daniel AUS KTM Factory Racing Team 24:41:00
2 Brabec Ricky 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 00:45
3 Benavides Luciano 1 ARG KTM Factory Racing Team + 10:15
4 Schareina Tosha 68 SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 11:56
5 Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio 11 CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 29:50
6 Howes Skyler 10 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 32:03
7 Van Beveren Adrien 42 FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 56:35
8 Cox Bradley 49 RSA BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM + 01:25:28
9 Evan Branch Ross 16 BWA Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 01:36:10
10 Klein Mason 98 USA Hoto Factory Racing + 02:33:37
