Schareina Maintains Sertões Lead as Ventura Wins Stage 3 and Takes Moto 2 Victory
Monster Energy Honda HRC continues to lead the 2026 Sertões after a demanding third stage through the heart of Brazil’s Jalapão region. Tosha Schareina remains at the top of the overall motorcycle standings, while teammate Martim Ventura claimed his first stage victory of the rally and strengthened his position at the front of the Moto 2 classification.
The third stage started in Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia, and finished in Mateiros, Tocantins, taking the competitors deep into the Jalapão. The stage featured the longest timed special of the event so far, with 511 kilometres against the clock, testing the riders over a long and demanding day.
With the rally entering its first marathon stage, mechanical management became just as important as speed. Once the riders reached the closed park in Mateiros, they could not receive external mechanical assistance, meaning they had to take care of their Honda CRF 450 RX Rally machines and make sure they were ready for the second part of the marathon.
For Tosha Schareina, the priority was to manage the stage and protect his overall lead. The Spanish rider finished fourth in the stage and remains first overall, with a total time of 17h 57m 34s after three stages. He also continues to lead the Moto 1 classification.
Moto 2
Martim Ventura enjoyed an outstanding third stage in his first Sertões, taking his first special-stage victory of the rally. The Portuguese rider completed the 511 kilometre special in 7h 13m 47s, finishing fastest overall and extending his advantage in the Moto 2 classification to more than 34 minutes.
The result also moves Ventura into third place overall, 8min15s behind Schareina after three stages.
Both Monster Energy Honda HRC machines arrived at the closed park in good condition, an important result ahead of the second part of the marathon. With no external mechanical assistance available between the two stages, the riders must now prepare themselves and their Honda machines using only the resources available to them.
The marathon continues on Wednesday with Stage 4, from Mateiros to Porto Nacional in Tocantins. The day will cover 572 kilometres in total, including 304 kilometres of special stage, with the heavy sands of Jalapão providing another major challenge for riders and machines.
The 34th edition of Sertões covers more than 4,000 kilometres across eight stages, including 2,611 kilometres of timed competition, before the rally concludes in Goiânia on August 30.
With the marathon only halfway through, both Schareina and Ventura remain firmly at the front of the fight in Brazil.
Tosha Schareina 68
Today was the first part of the marathon stage. We had to manage our energy and make sure we reached the finish as fresh and healthy as possible, and that’s exactly how it went. It was a relatively quiet day, and everything is ready for tomorrow.
We’re still leading the race. They managed to take a little bit of time back from us, but that was the goal today. Tomorrow, we’ll be able to push a little harder again, so that’s good.
Martim Ventura 84
we won the stage today, and I’m very happy about that. The truth is that everyone had their problems today, and I had some issues with the navigation equipment as well. I had to take things quite calmly because everything wasn’t working properly, and at the speeds we were riding, it could have been dangerous.
I managed to stay calm, and the other riders also had their problems. In the end, I was able to take the victory in the final kilometres, so I’m really happy about that.
But there is still a lot of racing left, and tomorrow it’s going to be my turn to open the track. It will be something new for me, but it’s a very good opportunity to gain experience. I’m really happy about that.
