The Monster Energy Honda HRC riders are set for the prologue

With technical and administration checks all passed today at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE today, Monster Energy Honda HRC are now ready to tackle the 34th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which starts tomorrow with the prologue.

After a positive shakedown test putting their Honda CRF450 RALLY bikes through their paces a few days ago, Ricky Brabec, Skyler Howes, Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina now turn their attention to the opening day of action at Al Ain.  With a total of 68km to complete tomorrow they’ll have a short 10km against the clock for the prologue itself.  More importantly, the higher they finish the better choice the riders have of choosing their start position for stage one on Sunday.

With a total of 1,920km of riding across a prologue and five stages, 1189km of which is timed, the riders will not only want to claim those all-important podium positions at Abu Dhabi, but garner more points in the World Rally-Raid Championship.  As things stand in the rider championship, Schareina sits in second on 30 points, Van Beveren is a place behind with 24 points, whilst Brabec and Howes are in fifth and sixth with 17 and 15 points respectively.

As the 2023 victor, Van Beveren is the only current Rally GP rider to have won the longest-running Middle Eastern rally, however, the sand specialist will be up against some stiff competition from his teammates in this 2025 edition.  The blistering heat and navigation across never-ending dunes of the United Arab Emirates will provide a thrilling battleground for the riders at this second round of the season.