Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Rally GP riders Tosha Schareina and Ricky Brabec battled through a demanding opening stage at this year’s Desafío Ruta 40 to secure podium finishes and keep themselves firmly in contention.
Stage one delivered plenty of challenges for the Monster Energy Honda HRC squad as riders tackled a northern loop out of San Juan. After a 91 km liaison, competitors faced a gruelling 341 km timed special through twisting riverbeds and dusty terrain, conditions that demanded complete focus on both navigation and pace.
Starting eleventh on the road, Tosha Schareina quickly settled into the fight at the front, running inside the top three through the early checkpoints. By the 172 km mark of the special, the Spaniard had moved past Edgar Canet and emerged as Daniel Sanders’ closest challenger. Despite suffering a small crash in the dust, Schareina limited the damage and crossed the line 6’02” behind the Australian. Sitting 5’44” adrift in the overall standings, he will aim to reduce the gap on stage two.
Ricky Brabec started just behind his teammate but struggled early in the cold morning conditions while trying to regain feeling in his hands and feet. Running sixth after 35 km, the American steadily increased his pace over the remainder of the stage to claim the final podium position. Finishing 7’29” from the stage-winning time, the reigning Desafío Ruta 40 champion remains firmly in the hunt alongside Schareina.
Skyler Howes also delivered a solid performance aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY and despite losing his road book for 30 km due to a tablet issue, the American recovered well and maintained a consistent rhythm throughout the day. He finished two and a half minutes behind Brabec and currently sits fourth overall, just under ten minutes from the lead heading into stage two.
After a navigation error in yesterday’s prologue, Adrien Van Beveren entered stage one determined to regain time. However, heavy dust from riders ahead hampered his progress and prevented him from finding a strong rhythm. The Frenchman conceded 13’40” on the day and will look to bounce back tomorrow.
Stage two will take riders south towards San Rafael in Mendoza Province, with a demanding 634 km route awaiting the field. Monster Energy Honda HRC will now focus on maintaining momentum and closing the gap at the front of the rally.
Ruben Faria – General Manager : « It was a loop on today’s first stage and a true Dakar test from the old days with every kind of terrain imaginable: fesh-fesh, dust, rocks, riverbeds and fast pistes broken up by rough sections. In total, 340 km of pure rally-raid.
« Tosha started with a strong rhythm, but soon found himself riding in heavy dust behind other competitors. In the desert, conditions can depend a lot on the wind and unfortunately he lost significant time on one particularly dusty section. Still, it’s only the first day and we’re already looking ahead to tomorrow.
« Ricky didn’t get off to the best start and lost some time early on, but then he really pushed and began to make it back. Later, he caught another rider and lost time again in the dust. Even so, he’s happy with both his riding and the bike and that’s an important positive.
« Skyler had a strong stage despite some issues with the tablet before refuelling. Overall, it was a solid day for him.
« Adrien didn’t feel completely confident on this type of terrain and couldn’t attack the way he wanted to. We’ll see tomorrow if he can recover some time.
« It’s only the opening stage, so there’s still a long way to go and hopefully the riders can continue to push hard over the coming days. »
Ricky Brabec #9 – Stage: 3rd Overall: 3rd : « It was a slow start for me. It was pretty cold this morning, so I couldn’t move my fingers or feet too well this morning. The first 100 km I lost a little bit of time just trying to get warmed up. It was so cold I couldn’t feel the handlebars or levers, so had a bit of a struggle this morning. As the stage went on it was better and better. I struggled a little bit for like 50 km, on and off the gas, then the brakes, trying the best I could to get around them. In the circumstances it was a fast road with a lot of dangers and cuts so I couldn’t do too much, couldn’t make a pass, but fortunately I was able to get around them and then I just did the best I could.
Skyler Howes #10 – Stage: 4th Overall: 4th : « It was a great stage in Argentina, it’s like we’re riding in Arizona, Southern Nevada, kind of Utah style, so I feel right at home. The bike is working great and I’m happy, the team has been working really really hard on this kind of stuff so it’s been nice to see the progression. Today, I had a bit of a malfunction with my tablet, so I had to ride 30 km with no road book which was a bit tricky, just following the tracks. Luckily, I had a good starting position so I caught some guys, but had to battle the dust a little bit. All in all, a successful day but not without its challenges. Tomorrow, gets shortened, so a 120 km special and a long 420 km liaison. It will still be a long day, with a lot of racing still to go. »
Adrien Van Beveren #42 – Stage: 8th Overall: 8th : « It has been a tough day overall. I caught some dust at the beginning, then I could ride on my own. I tried to get into a good rhythm but it looks like I wasn’t so fast today. I gave it my best, the bike is good, so I will try to get into my own rhythm and improve it for tomorrow. »
Tosha Schareina #68 – Stage: 2nd Overall: 2nd : « Today was really tough, it was more Dakar style. It was a super hard day and it was physical too. I don’t know if we chose good starting positions yesterday, as we were riding in the dust. But we did our best, I had a little crash in the dust behind Lorenzo Santolino, but it’s part of the game. I’m in second position, although I have lost a little bit of time to Daniel Sanders, but I’m ready for tomorrow. »
Rally GP Result – Stage 1
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 03:35:12
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 06:02
3. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 07:29
4. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 09:57
5. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 10:20
6. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 11:25
7. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 11:54
8. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 13:40
9. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 20:01
10. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory + 25:05
11. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, + 26:53
12. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, + 28:35
Rider Standings
Rally GP Provisional Standings after Stage 1
1. Sanders Daniel (AUS) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, 03:40:28
2. Schareina Tosha (SPA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 05:44
3. Brabec Ricky (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 07:10
4. Howes Skyler (USA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 09:54
5. Benavides Luciano (ARG) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team, + 10:00
6. Evan Branch Ross (BWA) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 11:35
7. Canet Edgar (SPA) – Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 11:45
8. Van Beveren Adrien (FRA) – Monster Energy Honda HRC, + 13:43
9. Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio (CHI) – Hero Motorsports Team Rally, + 20:30
10. Cox Bradley (RSA) – Sherco Rally Factory, + 25:23
11. Dumontier Romain (FRA) – Team Dumontier Racing, + 27:11
12. Santolino Lorenzo (SPA) – Sherco TVS Rally Factory, + 28:42