2025 Dakar Rally
Stage 3 – BISHA > AL HENAKIYAH
The Dakar Rally left Bisha for Stage Three on Tuesday morning, heading northwest towards Al Henakiyah for a shortened 327 km timed special. This section saw riders descend more than 500 metres in altitude across rocky tracks which eventually gave way to sandy plateaus for approximately 200 kilometres. Sherco’s Lorenzo Santolino took full advantage to claim his first Dakar stage win.
Lorenzo Santolino – P1
“Today’s stage was quite technical, with lots of stones and rocks from the very beginning up to kilometre 100. I pushed hard, taking it to the limit, while staying extremely focused on navigation. I managed to catch up to the leader, who started 5 minutes ahead of me, in the fast section. We rode together, and I was able to maintain the lead. Winning a stage is simply incredible—really hard to believe. The stage alternated between very fast zones and more technical sections with demanding navigation over the final 150 kilometres. Despite the risks I took, it was absolutely worth it. I’m extremely happy and want to thank Sherco, all my sponsors, and especially my family for their constant support. My mother always believes in me, even when I struggle with certain passages. Now, onto the next challenge!”
The Spanish rider finished the stage four-minutes clear of the trailing Honda duo and now holds tenth overall in the standings.
In contract, Dakar leader Daniel Sanders had a challenging day with navigation issues, including navigation tablet problems, which was him finish the stage in a lowly 17th but the Australian managed to hold on to his outright lead.
Opening stage three was never going to be easy for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, particularly with the timed special featuring tricky navigation and rough terrain. The issue with his digital roadbook mid-way through the special proved costly for Chucky, causing him to lose valuable time to his rivals as he struggled to navigate. He was awarded some time back after the stage to claim that 17th place finish however, and he’ll start mid-pack tomorrow, which should lead to a more forgiving stage four.
Daniel Sanders – P17
“I felt really good on the bike today and my navigation this morning was spot on through some of the really difficult parts. Unfortunately, I had an issue with my roadbook tablet after the refuelling stop so I really struggled to navigate. I was lost for a while as I had no way of knowing the route, and I decided to follow a rider who then also got lost which cost me even more time. The good thing is I’m still leading the overall, so all I can do now is freshen up, recover and get ready to claim some time back tomorrow.”
The Monster Energy Honda HRC American duo of Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes remained focussed throughout the day’s Dakar stage as they overcame the punishing terrain to put themselves on the day’s podium with Santolino, as they trimmed the overall time deficit to Sanders.
Double Dakar champion Brabec clawed back a massive six-minutes on Sanders putting the American just 9’15” off of the lead of the rally.
Ricky Brabec – P2
“I’m happy with my riding, the team and bike. The 48 Hour Chrono kind of jacked me up a little bit on time but it’s only day three of the rally so there are plenty of days left of racing and we’ll keep pushing to the end. I’m having fun and really enjoying where we’re going and the bike’s working really well. Tomorrow is a big task ahead, it’s the marathon as well and then not longer after it’ll be the rest day.”
Skyler Howes was the first Monster Energy Honda HRC rider out of the blocks for the day and although he was one of the lead-out riders, which can be a tricky task as there are no tracks to follow, the 32-year-old American excelled on the second part of the stage and with his 2’48” in bonuses helping to finish just behind Brabec.
Reminiscent of his best Dakar performance in 2023 when he led for six days, Howes has put in a stellar ride so far and Tuesday’s result sees him close to just 6’51″ off the lead (second overall) in the general standings as the battle starts to really hot up.
Skyler Howes – P3
“That first hundred kilometres was gnarly – super, super rocky, like, just 100% rocks. It’s difficult to navigate through that stuff so you have to take it easy. I had one issue in a sort of construction zone when I got stuck between some huge boulders and lost a little bit of time there. Just after that, the navigation got quite tricky; pretty straightforward but it rained out here and so all the tracks were washed away, so the navigation got really difficult before we got into these sandier tracks with rocks and the navigation got even more tricky then. I ended up finding the right way and hitting all the way points and I think the other guys ended up getting lost a little bit. It looks like a really positive stage for me. I’m really happy with my navigation. Even though I didn’t do a perfect job, I still did a good job, so I’m quite happy with my performance today. My body feels good and I’m excited to make it through this. Now, the marathon stage starts tomorrow.”
Hero’s Ross Branch remained consistent in fourth, 4m14s off leading pace, and holds down third place in the overall as a result.
Luciano Benavides capitalised on his advantageous start position as the sixth rider to set off, securing an impressive fifth-place result, just ahead of Stefan Svitko – also KTM mounted.
Luciano Benavides – P5
“The start of the stage today was super rocky, but I really focused and made sure I didn’t make any mistakes or lose any time. The navigation was also quite tricky in the second half of the special, so I did my best and I’m happy with today’s result. I feel really good, and I’m happy with how the Dakar is going so far for me.”
Pablo Quintanilla tapped over a decade of Dakar vast experience to stay in the reckoning with a solid ride to seventh, the faster off-piste sections providing him with plenty of opportunity to open the throttle and catch up to the leaders.
Pablo Quintanilla – P7
“The stage was pretty hard as the terrain today was super rough and there were a lot of rocks in the beginning. The first 120km was very rocky and the sections were quite technical. After that we had more open desert for a few kilometres, but were then faced again with a sandy section full of rocks. It was difficult to ride today and I used up a lot of energy trying to keep a good pace. It’s not my favourite terrain for riding but I think I did quite good. I gave my 100% today.”
Stage three also proved to be a strong one for Edgar Canet, with the 19-year-old showing impressive pace on the demanding route to Al Henakiyah. Canet skillfully navigated his way through the special to secure his first stage win in the Rally2 category of the 2025 Dakar so far, also securing a superb eighth-place overall result, ahead of Martin Michek and Tobias Ebster. Edgar successfully retained the class lead after three stages with an advantage of over five minutes.
Edgar Canet – P8
“I’m happy to have finished this stage, it was tough with the rocks and some pretty tricky navigation, but I didn’t crash or get lost, so that was a success. It would have been easy to make a mistake and lose a lot of time today so I’m glad to have avoided that. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s marathon stage now!”
It was a difficult morning for Adrien Van Beveren in the opening section of the stage when he was following Schareina, the rocky section catching him off guard and throwing him over the handlebars. Unhurt, he remounted his Honda CRF450 RALLY only to head in the wrong direction, only aware of this when he came across Ross Branch who had been following in his wheel tracks.
Adrien Van Beveren – P11
“Tosha made a mistake after four kilometres and he was starting in front of me. He was getting back on track when I caught up with him. I knew he was going to go on all-out attack and that he can be quick in the rocks, so I tried to ride at his pace. I rode behind him at a reasonable distance, but I didn’t want to let him out of my sight. I hit a rock and my bike suddenly slid left and then right before I was thrown over the handlebars. I don’t know if I lost consciousness or not, I don’t remember much about it, but I’m not feeling too bad. I was a bit shaken, but the airbag worked well, so I was able to set off straight away, but in the wrong direction. I followed the tracks on the ground, but because I was going the wrong way, I came face to face with Ross (Branch). That’s when I realised I was going the wrong way. Afterwards, the navigation was complicated and I’d lost my front brake. I stopped to try and repair it with a nut, but then it started working and braking all on its own. I rode sensibly afterwards. I went through all sorts of emotions: I thought I was going to lose everything with that crash.”
Just two kilometres into stage three, the dusty and rocky conditions caught out Tosha Schareina and he was left looking for the right route. Once back on track he got on the gas to catch up with the lead-out rider, Sanders and Howes, but then struggled in the later part of the stage with another slight navigational error. He finished in the top 20 but importantly has managed to stay in the top five overall.
Tosha Schareina – P18
“The first 100 kilometres was super rocky and I got lost in the first two kilometres, I made a mistake due to the dust and I tried to push after that. I did it as I caught Skyler and Daniel who were riding together and then after the refuelling I rode with them and tried to push again to open the stage. 40 kilometres before the finish line I made a big mistake and we were lost again. The riders behind caught us up and after that we rode together.”
Aussie Toby Hederics had another strong stage, finishing 22nd, just 14m40s off leading pace and now sits 26th overall in the standings.
Andrew Houlihan also putting in a strong effort to finish 78th, trailing the leader by 1h49m and holding 109th in the standings.
Toby Price and team-mate Sam Sunderland had a consistent stage in the Ultimate category of four-wheelers, finishing in 18th, trailing the lead by just over 16-minutes, and dropped from fourth to sixth in the overall Ultimate Car standings as a result.
Toby Price
“Around 15km into the stage we had high temperatures in the car and had to manage that by keeping our top speed to 130km/h. Feel like we lost a lot of time because of it, but I’m glad we could at least manage the situation given how much carnage is out there!”
Ex MotoGP star Danilo Petrucci is competing in the Trucks category and had a better stage to finish within the top-10 and now trails the leading truckies by 32m22s, leaving the trio 12th heading into Stage Four.
Isle of Man TT road race star James Hillier crashed earlier in the event but made a return to competition, finishing the stage in 87th, just shy of two-hours off leading pace.
Next – Stage Four
It’s a brief stop at Al Henakiyah for riders this evening, tomorrow’s marathon stage four will see the riders head towards AlUla which has been a stop on the Dakar Rally four previous times since 2020.
The vast canyons in the area will be a part of the 415 km special stage before they arrive at the bivouac finish line, where the riders will have just an hour and half to work on their bikes before the bikes are sealed off into Parc Ferme.
2025 Dakar Rally Stage Three Results
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | Time |
| 1 | LORENZO SANTOLINO | ESP | SHERCO | 3h44’34” |
| 2 | RICKY BRABEC | USA | HONDA | +4’01” |
| 3 | SKYLER HOWES | USA | HONDA | +4’10” |
| 4 | ROSS BRANCH | BWA | HERO | +4’14” |
| 5 | LUCIANO BENAVIDES | ARG | KTM | +4’55” |
| 6 | STEFAN SVITKO | SVK | KTM | +5’02” |
| 7 | PABLO QUINTANILLA | CHL | HONDA | +5’19” |
| 8 | EDGAR CANET | ESP | KTM | +5’31” |
| 9 | MARTIN MICHEK | CZE | KTM | +6’42” |
| 10 | TOBIAS EBSTER | AUT | KTM | +6’53” |
| 11 | ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | FRA | HONDA | +7’03” |
| 12 | MICHAEL DOCHERTY | ZAF | KTM | +7’07” |
| 13 | JOSE CORNEJO | CHL | HERO | +7’10” |
| 14 | BRADLEY COX | ZAF | KTM | +7’21” (6m P) |
| 15 | RUI GONÇALVES | PRT | SHERCO | +7’36” |
| 16 | TONI MULEC | SVN | KTM | +8’34” |
| 17 | DANIEL SANDERS | AUS | KTM | +9’55” |
2025 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Three
| Pos | Rider | Time |
| 1 | DANIEL SANDERS | 20h05’00” |
| 2 | SKYLER HOWES | +6’51” |
| 3 | ROSS BRANCH | +6’59” |
| 4 | RICKY BRABEC | +9’15” |
| 5 | TOSHA SCHAREINA | +13’11” |
| 6 | LUCIANO BENAVIDES | +17’31” |
| 7 | PABLO QUINTANILLA | +20’36” |
| 8 | ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | +21’18” |
| 9 | JOSE CORNEJO | +46’12” |
| 10 | LORENZO SANTOLINO | +47’12” |
2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule
| 2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule | ||||
| Stae | Date | Start/Finish | Total | Special |
| S4 | Jan 8 | Al Henakiyah > Alula | 588km | 415km |
| S5 | Jan 9 | Alula > Hail | 492km | 428km |
| Rest | Jan 10 | Hail | – | – |
| S6 | Jan 11 | Hail > Al Duwadimi | 828km | 604km |
| S7 | Jan 12 | Al Duwadimi > Al Duwadimi | 742km | 478km |
| S8 | Jan 13 | Al Duwadimi > Riyadh | 737km | 487km |
| S9 | Jan 14 | Riyadh > Haradh | 589km | 357km |
| S10 | Jan 15 | Haradh > Shubaytah | 640km | 120km |
| S11 | Jan 16 | Shubaytah > Shubaytah | 507km | 275km |
| S12 | Jan 17 | Shubaytah > Shubaytah | 131km | 61km |
