Monster Energy Honda HRC endured a challenging but promising second stage at the Desafío Ruta 40, with Tosha Schareina leading the team in third as the riders battled demanding terrain and navigation challenges.
Stage two followed a route previously used during the 2010 Dakar Rally, taking riders from San Juan south towards San Rafael in Mendoza province, close to the Chilean border. Although the stage was shortened by 200 km, it still proved to be a demanding day in the saddle.
The 128 km timed special featured a constantly changing mix of terrain beneath the towering Andes mountains, with riders tackling deep sand, vegetation-lined tracks, dusty conditions and high-speed salt flats that placed an added emphasis on navigation. Once the special ended, competitors still faced a punishing 393 km liaison to the next bivouac in San Rafael.
Starting second on the road, Tosha Schareina was the leading Honda rider in third place. Despite conceding 5’17” to stage winner Daniel Sanders, the Spaniard remained positive that today’s strategy could pay dividends tomorrow, when he will benefit from starting further back on the long special stage. Schareina now sits 11 minutes adrift in the overall standings.
Ricky Brabec endured a difficult opening section after encountering issues with his odometer, dropping to tenth at the first waypoint and losing almost two-and-a-half minutes to Sanders early on. The American steadily recovered throughout the stage, climbing back to fourth by the finish, 5’25 behind the winner. He remains third overall, though now trails the rally lead by 12’35”.
Skyler Howes found a strong rhythm across the salt flats early in the day, but, like yesterday, his progress was hampered by another tablet malfunction. The issue caused him to lose valuable time after getting lost and he ultimately finished tenth, 9’31 off the pace.
Adrien Van Beveren enjoyed a more encouraging performance aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY. Despite making a minor navigation error midway through the stage, the Frenchman secured fifth place, 6’46 behind Sanders, and moved up to seventh overall.
With three stages remaining, the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders will look to go on the attack tomorrow as the rally heads deeper into the dunes of Mendoza province. Riders face another demanding day, with 408 km of timed action still to come as the fight for victory intensifies.
Ruben Faria – General Manager : « The special stage was only 128 km long. The first section crossed chotts filled with bushes, which kept the speeds relatively low. The second part, however, was completely different: deep, heavy sand with bumpy pistes that felt more like motocross terrain. It suited the riders who enjoy those kinds of conditions.
« Tosha didn’t have the stage he was hoping for. He wanted to start further back tomorrow and tried a specific strategy, but in the end he didn’t finish far enough down the order, so in my opinion it wasn’t the best decision. We’ll see what he can do tomorrow. Ricky finished fourth and now has a strong starting position for the next stage. With three fast riders ahead of him, he’ll have a good opportunity to try and recover time on the leaders. Adrien, who finished fifth, really enjoys this kind of terrain, especially the sandy second section and he rode very well.
« Skyler had more problems with his tablet, just like yesterday and unfortunately lost time again because of it.
« Tomorrow will be a huge stage. The organisers estimate almost five hours of riding time, so it will be a very long and demanding day. The route includes all kinds of terrain and climbs close to 3,000 metres in altitude. It’s going to be a real challenge. »
Ricky Brabec #9 – Stage: 4th Overall: 3rd : « The day was good, stage two got cut a little bit short, like 200 km short. So, short and sweet today with a big transfer at the end. I made one mistake early on but it is what it is. I’m just here riding and getting some training in, so all is good, the team is doing great and we’re doing the best job we can. »
Skyler Howes #10 – Stage: 9th Overall: 6th : « Stage two was short but a super physically demanding one. It was 128 km with a lot of sand whoops, really really tight trees and like pokey trees too and I got some thorns stuck in my arm. It’s kind of like acupuncture, so if I move just right then I can’t use my fingers, so that was exciting. Today, I unfortunately had another tablet malfunction and I got lost this time, so that was a real big bummer and it is what it is. But I still feel like I rode good and just pushed hard until the end and did what I could. It was almost 700 km today but only 120 km of racing, still a long day, but tomorrow’s going to be a big one, so we’ll keep pushing. »
Adrien Van Beveren #42 – Stage: 5th Overall: 7th : « It was intense even though it was a short special stage. We went through a lot of bushes, tough vegetation and then sandy tracks, really nice, bumpy and I tried to be fast but I made a small mistake at 68 km, went the wrong way and then went off piste for awhile before I could get back on track. I really gave my best, I improved from yesterday, so we will try to get better everyday. »
Tosha Schareina #68 – Stage: 3rd Overall: 2nd : « Today was short, they cut the stage more or less in the middle. We did 128 km and it was good, strategy for today was not to push a lot because we don’t want to start in front tomorrow. I think all the riders thought the same so we are all in the same timings except Daniel, he wanted to push. We came third today and we will see for tomorrow because it will be a longer stage. »
Rally GP Result – Stage 2
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 01:39:43
2. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 05:00
3. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 05:17
4. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 05:25
5. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 06:46
6. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 06:53
7. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory, + 07:36
8. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, + 07:54
9. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 09:31
10. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 10:30
11. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, + 12:08
12. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 13:58
Rider Standings
Provisional Rally GP Standings after Stage 2
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 05:20:11
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 11:01
3. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 12:35
4. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 15:00
5. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 18:38
6. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 18:47
7. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 20:29
8. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 22:05
9. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory, + 32:59
10. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 34:28
11. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, + 35:05
12. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, + 40:50