Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Tosha Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren maintained the pressure in the overall standings on stage three, both securing places on the stage podium.
After riders were greeted by sunshine in Spain yesterday, rain returned overnight at the midway point of this year’s Rally-Raid Portugal. Competitors faced a demanding 500 km loop from the Badajoz bivouac, including 296 km against the clock on what was expected to be the fastest stage of the week. However, the wet weather added an unpredictable twist to proceedings.
Racing in front of his home fans, Tosha Schareina delivered a determined performance on the slippery tracks. Grip was hard to find aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY, as the wet conditions, rocky sections and winding trails of the Extremadura region pushed riders to their limits. As the lead out rider after his stage victory yesterday, the Spaniard did well to keep Daniel Sanders within reach and despite being caught out by some misleading notes in the road book, he conceded just under two minutes by the end of the stage. He remains firmly in contention for the overall lead sitting 3’11 back.
Adrien Van Beveren continued his consistent form. While best known as a sand specialist, with three victories at Enduropale du Touquet, the Frenchman adapted impressively to the treacherous conditions. Carefully managing his tyres on the tougher terrain, he secured another stage podium with a third-place finish, 3’14 behind Sanders. He strengthens his hold on third overall, now with a nine-minute cushion over fourth.
American rider Skyler Howes enjoyed stage three despite briefly searching for waypoints. He finished sixth, within five minutes of the leader, and now sits seventh overall in a tightly contested battle for fourth place.
Two-time Dakar winner Ricky Brabec faced a more challenging day. A couple of minor falls have kept him on edge across the technical European terrain in previous days, though he appeared to regain his rhythm during this stage. However, a deep river near the finish caught him out, costing over 15 minutes and effectively ending his podium hopes. He now sits eighth overall, 24 minutes adrift.
The Monster Energy Honda HRC riders will need to recover quickly, as stage four is set to be the longest of the rally so far. Covering more than 600 km, it will take competitors back into Portugal and onto the historic city of Loulé.
Ruben Faria – General Manager : « It was a particularly demanding stage for the riders. Tosha secured second place and although he lacked confidence on the early fast pistes, he regained his rhythm in the mountain sections and delivered a strong performance. Near the end of the stage there was an issue with the road book where two notes were incorrect and it caused confusion as he searched for the correct waypoints. As the first rider to encounter the problem, he was at a disadvantage, while others behind lost varying amounts of time. With two days still to go, everything remains open, and Tosha will continue to push to the limit.
« Adrien finished third on the stage after settling into a solid rhythm. He did lose some time in the final section, but he maintains third place overall.
« Skyler crossed the line in sixth. While he delivered a consistent result, the wet terrain does not suit his riding style. It was a challenging day for Ricky. After crashing in a river crossing, his bike stalled and required repairs before he could restart, costing him valuable time. The rally now heads back into Portugal tomorrow, where we are confident that both Tosha and Adrien can push harder and begin to close the gap to Daniel Sanders. »
Ricky Brabec #9 – Stage: 8th Overall: 8th : « That was a super tough day. I don’t really understand this rally as the water holes are very deep and where I’m from we don’t ride across water crossings. I don’t know the best way to get through them so I’m doing the best job I can. The first day kind of caught me out and then today did catch me out big time when I completely fell over in this water hole with then the whole bike under water, so that was a shame. I was riding good all day and no matter how well you think you’re doing there’s someone else to humble you. »
Skyler Howes #10 – Stage: 6th Overall: 7th : « Today was our first full day in Spain with higher speeds, long farm tracks and mountain roads too, but it’s really wet out there and very slippery in some places too. It was a fun day though, although there were two notes that weren’t supposed to be there so I spent about five minutes searching for some way points that I don’t think actually existed, so we will see what happens there. Ross Branch caught up to me when I was searching for those points, so then after that we rode together which was great fun. One really deep water crossing out there was crazy but the rest of the stage was really fun – I enjoyed it a lot. »
Adrien Van Beveren #42 – Stage: 3rd Overall: 3rd : « We started again with a small amount of rain but I knew that today was going to be really challenging for the tyres. We chose a soft tyre for this rally and that means we have to stay with that choice for the event; those are the rules but we knew that this stage was going to be long and like hard terrain too, so I tried to save the tyre and ride smooth especially when it was slippery. I felt good but not too fast so I had a mix in-between. I wanted to attack but I wanted to preserve my bike too. We did good and I’m happy to be here at the finish with still many kilometres still to do. »
Tosha Schareina #68 – Stage: 2nd Overall: 2nd : « I’ve been in the middle of nowhere all day riding alone but I tried to find my pace as I knew the riders behind me were on the gas today too. Opening from start to finish was pretty good and I think second place for me is good. Two more stages to go and even with the navigation that is not so difficult, when there are marks on the ground to make it easier to calculate the speed through the corners – it’s all part of the game.
Rally GP Result – Stage 3
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 02:37:55
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 01:53
3. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 03:14
4. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 03:49
5. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 04:05
6. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 04:39
7. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 05:37
8. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 15:31
Rider Standings
Rally 2 Provisional Standings After Stage 3
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 07:07:50
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 03:11
3. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 05:31
4. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 14:17
5. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 14:18
6. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 15:51
7. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 16:58
8. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 24:05