Monster Energy Honda HRC power through the first stage
413 kilometres of special stage was on the menu today as the Dakar Rally got underway with its first test of the 2025 event in Saudi Arabia. It was an early start for the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders on stage one as they prepared to face a multitude of fast tracks through valleys, canyons and wadis with many thorny bushes thrown in for good measure.
Keeping the pressure on from the start, Ricky Brabec lead the way over the early kilometres to just drop a little time towards the finish to lose a mere 2′04″ to eventual stage winner Daniel Sanders. Back to full fitness after sustaining an injury at last year’s Rallye Du Maroc, the reigning Dakar champion is fully primed before the enormous second stage at just a couple of minutes behind Sanders in the overall standings.
Skyler Howes had an eventful first stage as he stopped to assist Sebastian Bühler who had fallen off badly at the 68km mark but come the end of the stage that time tending a fellow competitor in need was reinstated to the American. Overall it was a positive day for Howes that saw him finish fourth as he maintained a consistent rhythm behind Brabec over the latter half of the stage.
Tosha Schareina was on a charge as he looked to keep within touching distance of Sanders and although during the stage he reduced the deficit to 18 seconds, once he got to the Bisha finish line he was 4′42″ off the fastest time to take fifth.
Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla not only struggled with some of the navigation but also front end issues with his Honda CRF450 RALLY, but he rode hard through the adversity to finish the stage in seventh keen to iron out any small problems before the start of stage two.
Birthday boy Adrien Van Beveren had a day to forget as a crash just 15 kilometres into the stage saw his airbag go off and the road book push button stop working. Although unhurt, it was from then on in a very long day for the 34-year-old as he then had to operate the road book manually which slowed his progress to the end of the stage. With his eighth place finish, the Frenchman will be the first Monster Energy Honda HRC rider off the line tomorrow as the starting order for the 20 Rally GP bikes will be reversed for the start of the 48 Hour Chrono. He’ll therefore set off in thirteenth position with the aim to keep his crown of winning the huge two day test just as he did in 2024.
The punishing 48 Hour Chrono looms on the horizon tomorrow with the riders preparing for the quite enormous 947 km of riding broken up with a night sleeping on the desert floor, food rations which include breakfast muesli, a hot dinner and drinks and no outside mechanical assistance. They’ll also have no idea where they are positioned in the stage standings relative to each other as the darkness and cold conditions descend upon them north of Bisha. Adrien Van Beveren kept his cool to win the 48 Hour Chrono last year, but with it featuring so early on in this year’s edition there will be the entire field of contenders looking to take the Chrono crown.
Ruben Faria
The first stage done and overall they were good results for us today. Yesterday the prologue was not the best and the start today wasn’t great for some riders, but it was still a strong first stage for Monster Energy Honda HRC. Ricky was on top form and Tosha did a really good job until the 330km mark, on part of the piste that featured in the car shakedown three days ago. He made a mistake in this area that cost him around five minutes. This is the Dakar, sometimes this happens but he had a solid, good day despite this. Skyler finished fourth and it was a strong day for him too despite having to stop to help Sebastian Bühler after his accident. Pablo and Adrien lost a little bit of time as it was really dusty but tomorrow they can start to fight back.
It’s the first day of the 48 Hour Chrono and it will be for sure a difficult stage with sand, stones and riverbeds so it will be a complete Dakar stage. We don’t know yet which kilometre they will stop at to sleep but most likely will be between 600 and 650. This is this the plan but let’s see if they can do more as it will be difficult.
We’ll take it day by day and let’s see how we finish in two days time. I hope that they will all be in a good position because the goal is to arrive in Ha’il for the rest day at the top of the general standings, when we’ll then be able to plan a strategy for the second week.
Pablo Quintanilla 7
Well we finished the first day of the race, it was a pretty long and hard stage. The navigation was very very difficult, also the terrain was rocky, tricky with a lot of technical sections and many bushes. It was not a good day for me as I was struggling a little bit with the bike since the morning, I had some issues with the front end so the handling was really heavy, but we will check now to find out why. It’s just the first day but I’m happy to arrive in one piece so now I’ll rest before a long, long day tomorrow.
Ricky Brabec 9
Stage one is in the books. It was good to get a big stage under our belts even though it’s only one of twelve. I’m happy to be at the finish of stage one, now we’e going to get some rest and get ready for the chrono stage that happens tomorrow. I think it’s about 950 kilometres, so two days stuck in the desert with no assistance. I think today we did pretty good, tomorrow is not going to be easy but I think we’ll have to keep an eye on the situation out there.
Skyler Howes 10
I was catching up to Sebastian and was in his dust and then the next thing our GPS was making a siren noise and I could see he had just picked himself up and was injured. I stopped with him and hit the rescue button as he had broken his collarbone. I spent a few minutes there on the side of the trail and then I hopped back in behind Ricky where it was just super dusty for the rest of the day.
Adrien Van Beveren 42
It was a tough day for me as I crashed 15km into the stage. In the bushes I didn’t see a turn, I got myself on the rear of the bike to try to avoid the crash but couldn’t. My airbag did its job so I didn’t get hurt, but from then I was in the dust of the guys in front so I didn’t risk it too much. Then the guys caught me up, I was then in their dust because I let them pass. I spent my day in the dust but I think I rode better at the end and this is what I will try to remember. I had no road book push button from the crash so I had to do it manually and this didn’t help to set a good rhythm. But it is what it is, this is Dakar, we will make the best of it.
Tosha Schareina 68
Today was really hard with 400km to start this Dakar rally. It was pretty good for me during the stage as I passed other riders in the dust. It was sketchy in some parts but it was a combination between some fast parts and some slow and rocky sections. My focus tomorrow is my first 48 Hour Chrono. I’m happy with the team, bike and how I rode so I think we can push and fight tomorrow.
Rally GP Results - Stage 1
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanders Daniel | AUS | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 04:41:27 | |
| 2 | Brabec Ricky | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 02:04 |
| 3 | Evan Branch Ross | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 02:26 |
| 4 | Howes Skyler | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 04:07 |
| 5 | Schareina Tosha | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 04:42 |
| 6 | Benavides Luciano | 1 | ARG | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | + 10:02 |
| 7 | Quintanilla Pablo | 7 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 11:06 |
| 8 | Van Beveren Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 14:44 |
| 9 | Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 18:09 |
| 10 | Cox Bradley | 49 | RSA | BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM | KTM | + 25:56 |
| 11 | Benavides Kevin | 1 | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 34:23 |
Rally GP Provisional Standings after Stage 1
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanders Daniel | AUS | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | 04:58:18 | |
| 2 | Brabec Ricky | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 02:22 |
| 3 | Evan Branch Ross | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 02:38 |
| 4 | Howes Skyler | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 04:59 |
| 5 | Schareina Tosha | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 05:07 |
| 6 | Benavides Luciano | 1 | ARG | KTM Factory Racing Team | KTM | + 10:42 |
| 7 | Quintanilla Pablo | 7 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 11:33 |
| 8 | Van Beveren Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | Honda | + 15:25 |
| 9 | Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | Hero | + 20:48 |
| 10 | Cox Bradley | 49 | RSA | BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM | KTM | + 26:59 |
| 11 | Benavides Kevin | 1 | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | KTM | + 36:01 |
Location Information
The greatest and toughest rally in the world, the Dakar’s history has been written in the heart of some of the world’s most stunning deserts and belongs to the world of the greatest sporting challenges of our time. Both a motor race and an orienteering challenge, the Dakar Rally pits… read more.
