Another big name bites the dust as Sanders’ lead trimmed to 11 minutes

2025 Dakar Rally

Stage 8 – AL DUWADIMI > RIYADH

Monday’s special, Stage Eight, was a long day for the riders as after a 72 km road section from Al Duwadimi, they then made their through 484 kilometres against the clock before another 178km on the road leading to the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.  Impressive portions of dunes whetted the appetites of the sand specialists who are eager to enter the Empty Quarter to satisfy their hunger.

The beginning of the day was marked by the fall and exit from the race of Pablo Quintanilla, due to a shoulder injury suffered after 133 km.

Pablo Quintanilla

“I’m out of the race today due to a very big crash I had 130 kilometres into the stage. I was on a high speed piste which had many intersections and one of them had a really high edge. I was pushing and saw it at the last minute so I couldn’t avoid it. I hit it very very fast and that is the last thing that I remember. When I woke up Adrien was there helping me and it was quite a hard situation because of the pain and also because at that moment I realised that I was out of the race. It’s a really sad feeling, we worked a lot for this race, we put a lot of effort, time and energy to do our best and to go out of the race like this is a very bad feeling. Luckily I’m okay, it was just a big concussion, my body is a bit painful but there’s nothing broken. I’m calm and happy because of all the work that I did leading up to this year’s Dakar, all the preparation, all the time that I put in, the training, I’m quite proud of it. I’ll now go back to Chile to start my recovery so that I’m able to race as soon as possible. As always I will give my 100% to be back stronger.”

Luciano Benavides and Adrien Van Beveren stopped to assist the Chilean rider and then resumed the special at a searing pace. After being recredited with the time spent helping their stricken colleague, the Argentinean and Frenchman took the top two places on the day’s podium, in that order, separated by 2’08’’.

Luciano Benavides – P1

“It’s never easy to see a fellow rider crash, so Adrien [Van Beveren] and I stopped to help Pablo [Quintanilla] and we stayed with him for about 30 minutes. After we restarted, it was difficult because the crash is always playing on your mind but you have to just keep going. Despite having to ride in the dust from many riders and make several overtakes, I pushed really hard and it paid off with my first stage win of the race, which is amazing!”

Adrien Van Beveren – P2

“In the beginning there was a lot of navigation, I made some mistakes as maybe I was too precise on the caps. I turned around as I lost some time and then in the second part I found Pablo on the floor as he’d had a big crash. I ran over and tried to support him, we called the helicopter and waited with him for quite a long time. I then tried to regroup, to refocus and the stage was OK, it was good.”

Tosha Schareina was a provisional winner of the stage before that aforementioned duo had their time credited back for helping Quintanilla, but the 29-year-old Spaniard had still done enough to claw back some time on rally leader Daniel Sanders after the Australian opened the way after Sunday’s stage victory.  Schareina chased down Sanders on the road to then lead much of the way and was credited with a handy 4’22” of time bonuses to reduce Sanders’ outright lead to just over 11-minutes.

Tosha Schareina – P3

“It was another long day at the office, it was pretty good at the beginning and I tried to push to catch Edgar and Daniel. After the refuelling we were riding together until the end. It was pretty good, I tried to push and take that bonus time.”

On the back of his stage seven victory, Sander’s was leading out into the rocky tracks and open desert of the stage, and after a super technical first 100 kilometres, Daniel was joined by team-mate Edgar Canet who assisted in opening the way. Sanders ultimately posted the seventh-fastest time 6m44 seconds off the leaders, despite seven minutes of bonus time awarded to him. A 60-second penalty for speeding contributing to that result.

Daniel Sanders – P7

“That might have been the toughest stage yet, especially the first 100 kilometres, which were really technical and hard to navigate, so I lost a fair bit of time there. After the refuel it was really fast and I was opening with Edgar [Canet], which was cool. I made a few little mistakes here and there, but I have a decent starting position for tomorrow so I’m happy.”

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Setting off in tenth, Ricky Brabec powered through the time checks on his Honda CRF450 RALLY to head the stage standings for most of the day as he followed the tracks made by the riders ahead. Although he faded slightly later on he was only 4’21” off the quickest time of day so keeps his current position of fifth overall just eight-seconds behind Benavides.

Skyler Howes scraped in under the five minute mark as the Monster Energy Honda HRC freight train swept up positions two through to five on today’s stage. The American rider luckily had no lasting effects from his crash yesterday and although he had a small off this morning, it was a much brighter stage for him with an enjoyable ride through the dunes towards the finish line.

Thanks to his runner-up finish on the previous stage, Edgar Canet was the second rider to leave the bivouac in Al Duwadimi. Quickly catching up to team-mate Daniel Sanders, Canet joined forces with Sanders and Tosha Schareina to help open the route. Demonstrating impressive consistency, the young Spaniard tackled the 483-kilometre special with skill, maintaining a strong pace and rhythm to secure an excellent eighth-place overall finish and second in the Rally2 category. His outstanding performance extends his class lead to over 31 minutes and elevates him to an impressive eighth place in the overall standings.

Edgar Canet

“That was a good stage for me with a lot of tough navigation as I started second. At around 90 kilometres I caught up to Daniel [Sanders], and then Tosha [Schareina] caught me, so we all rode together all day after that. It was great to be opening with my team-mate and I feel like I’m definitely improving with every stage.”

Next –  Stage Nine

With a brief overnight stop in the capital city of Riyadh, tomorrow’s stage nine will see the riders on a slightly shorter 357km against the clock where the organisers have made sure most of it will be on fast tracks meaning this will be a day to really push and gain precious time overall as the monstrous dunes of the Empty Quarter looms on the horizon.

2025 Dakar Rally Stage Eight Results

2025 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Eight

2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule