Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Tosha Schareina secured another stage podium at the Desafío Ruta 40 today as riders tackled the demanding Nihuil dunes in a brutal test of endurance and speed.
Leaving a freezing San Rafael early this morning, competitors faced a 49 km liaison before taking on a massive 408 km special stage, followed by a 117 km transfer back to the bivouac. The route once again wound through the dry riverbeds synonymous with this rally, while the famed Nihuil dunes provided a spectacular challenge before the stage climbed into the mountains to a staggering altitude of 2,715 metres above sea level.
Knowing he needed to reclaim time on overall leader Daniel Sanders, Schareina attacked from the outset and by the 69 km mark, was sitting just nine seconds behind stage leader Luciano Benavides. Despite the freezing conditions, the Spaniard expertly navigated the unexpectedly icy dunes aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY, emerging as one of three riders battling for victory throughout the day. Schareina ultimately crossed the line in third place, 2’35” behind stage winner Daniel Sanders, and now trails the overall leader by 13’36”.
Ricky Brabec endured a difficult day while battling illness, but the American dug deep to complete the demanding stage. A small crash in the dunes triggered his airbag system, yet he still managed to finish fifth, 6’37” adrift of the winner. The last Desafío Ruta 40 champion has now slipped three minutes off the provisional overall podium but will look to fight back over the final stages.
After suffering navigation tablet issues during the previous two stages and receiving time compensation from officials following yesterday’s stage, Skyler Howes was relieved to enjoy a trouble-free run today. Clearly more comfortable, Howes admitted he thoroughly enjoyed the challenging terrain and brought his Honda CRF450 RALLY home in fourth place, 5’45” behind the leader. He currently sits fifth overall, over 21 minutes from the top spot.
Adrien Van Beveren started strongly and was second at the 33 km checkpoint, but despite looking forward to the dunes, he never quite found a comfortable rhythm on his bike. The Frenchman eventually finished sixth, eight minutes back and remains sixth overall. Together with the team, he’ll now focus on refining his bike setup ahead of the final two stages.
The penultimate stage of the 2026 Desafío Ruta 40 sees riders return to San Juan for another gruelling challenge. Although the rally is approaching its conclusion, the difficulty will not ease with a total of 634 km on the schedule, including 324 km against the clock, as the riders continue their fight for positions in the overall standings.
Ruben Faria – General Manager : « It was a big loop today from San Rafael with an opening off-piste section before heading into the famous Nihuil dunes. We had around 40 kilometres of dunes before the riders moved onto WRC-style tracks for the remainder of the stage.
« Tosha pushed hard and gave everything today, finishing third and not far behind the top two riders. It wasn’t exactly the result we were hoping for, but it was the maximum he could achieve under the circumstances.
« Skyler also delivered a strong performance to finish fourth, with Ricky in fifth and Adrien in sixth.
« Tosha and Ricky both encountered a closed gate during the stage and had to stop to open it, costing them around 27 seconds. In the end it didn’t affect the overall results as the time was given back to them. »
Ricky Brabec #9 – Stage: 5th Overall: 4th : « I woke up feeling like dog crap today. Stage three was a long one, it was super cold today. It was good, it was fast, made a little mistake in the dunes and deployed my airbag, other than that it was good. Just two more days, just going to keep plugging away and do my best. »
Skyler Howes #10 – Stage: 4th Overall: 5th : « Today just about had everything. We started out on some really fast tracks, then got into these really awesome dunes which were actually frozen in some areas, so it was a bit tricky. Some of these off-piste sections were through the vegetation, which was really physically demanding and then after that we got into really fast tracks and it was freezing cold, so we were shivering while riding the bike and climbed up to 3,000 metres. Everything they could throw at us they did today and it was really fun. I had a good stage, had one crash out there but it was all good and then made a little navigation mistake, but kind of everyone did. All in all it was a really great stage and I’m happy. I was having a lot of fun today and today is one of those days that you really have fun on a dirt bike, it makes me really love the job that I have. »
Adrien Van Beveren #42 – Stage: 6th Overall: 6th : « We went to the Nihuil dunes this morning. I was happy to go there but I didn’t feel so comfortable on the bike today. I tried to adapt myself and tried to ride my best but I was not as fast as I can be, so I just made it to the end, tried to be safe, to ride as good as possible and give my best, so I have no regrets. We are trying some different specs on the bike and hopefully we will find a good balance and I can regroup and find my best level. »
Tosha Schareina #68 – Stage: 3rd Overall: 2nd : « I can’t describe this stage, super fast and so cold. I’ve never been in white dunes that were frozen. For me it was good, I did my best and I gave everything on the piste. Today was really really fast, at the beginning riding the famous dunes at high altitude, felt like we didn’t have any power. It was fun, after that we did 300 km flat out on big pistes. The crowd is always there, so that’s happy to see. »
Rally GP Result – Stage 3
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 4:16:30
2. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, +0:57
3. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +2:35
4. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +5:45
5. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +6:37
6. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +8:04
7. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, +12:43
8. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, +16:23
9. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory, +18:53
10. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, +21:13
11. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, +25:44
12. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, +35:15
Rider Standings
Provisional Rally GP Standings after Stage 3
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 9:37:06
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +13:36
3. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, +15:57
4. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +19:12
5. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +21:29
6. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, +28:33
7. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, +31:21
8. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, +38:28
9. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory, +51:52
10. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, +55:41
11. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, +1:06:34
12. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, + 01:10:20