Sanders wins Wednesday’s Dakar Stage Four to extend lead

2025 Dakar Rally

Stage 4 – AL HENAKIYAH > AL’ULA

Stage Four of the 2025 Dakar Rally on Wednesday challenged riders with 415 km of timed special through the volcanic canyons of Al’Ula, leading riders into the marathon bivouac.

It had been a very cold start to the day, and riders can expect similar on Wednesday night, where they have just 30 minutes to work on their bikes with no outside assistance allowed.

After trouble with his electronic tablet during Tuesday’s Stage 3, Daniel Sanders was given back 4m54s by race organisers before setting off on Wednesday morning, and the Aussie made the stage look – relatively – easy, racing to a 15-second lead over Spaniard Tosha Schareina, with 13-minutes and 26-seconds now separating the two in the overall standings.

Skyler Howes, Ross Branch and Ricky Brabec had posed a triple threat to Daniel Sanders in the general standings heading into the special. Six to nine-minutes off the pace, they were bracing to concede some time on the road to AlʿUla because they were opening the road and the Australian was starting well back. Their losses approached the 20-minute barrier, the three riders making a costly navigational blunder just 15 km out.

Starting stage four from 21st, having lost several minutes on the previous day’s special, Sanders knew he had to deliver his best and claimed the top spot on the timesheets by kilometre 65, having chased down the leading 20 riders.

Locked in a battle for the lead until the end of the special, Sanders ultimately secured his fourth stage win of this year’s event as Schareina held back a little to ensure he didn’t have to lead the field away on Thursday.

The Stage win marked quite a milestone for Chucky, the 30-year-old the first rider to score four Dakar stage wins in a single event since Stéphane Peterhansel in 1997. The Frenchman went on to win seven stages at that event on his way to winning Dakar 1997 by more than two-hours. The Australian will be hoping to do the same, if not better…

Thursday will be a navigation test for the race leader as he will lead the field away on a 428 km special stage. The completion of Thursday’s Stage Five will mark the halfway point of Dakar 2025, riders will then be able to relax with a rest day on Friday.

Daniel Sanders – P1

“That was a pretty cool stage! I did get lost a bit but nothing that cost me too much time. This area can be really tricky so you have to focus completely, and it will be the same tomorrow. There was a little bit of cat and mouse at the end to decide who would end up opening tomorrow which we haven’t really had yet, so that was quite fun and I’m looking forward to setting off first for the last stage of week one. I’ve extended my lead even more, so I’m really pleased with that. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest day!”

Tosha Schareina kept on top of the day’s navigation amongst the winding tracks and stony off-piste sections after starting further down the pack, but took full advantage of that opportunity to post an impressive second best time of day, ahead of Chili’s Jose Cornejo who rounded out the top three for Hero, trailing the leader by 7m49s.

RelatedPosts

Stefan Pierer resigns from the Executive Board of KTM AG

March 4, 2025

Daniel Sanders wins Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to extend Rally-Raid lead

February 28, 2025

Tosha Schareina – P2

“It was tough today, with rocky sections for 400 kilometres. I pushed from the start, caught up with Daniel at the refuelling, then we rode together. In the end, I tried to stay calm, I lost a couple of minutes to avoid opening tomorrow. You had to be careful with the bike, with the tyres, because it’s a marathon stage, and tomorrow we still have over 400 kilometres to go.”

It’s not been the best of starts on this Dakar Rally for Adrien Van Beveren as he’s had two crashes with his most recent one yesterday but the Frenchman soldiered on to the finish, determined to keep himself amongst the frontrunners, rounding out the day in fourth.

Rui Gonçalves, fifth fastest for the day, managed his race well, finding his rhythm early and effectively managed his physical endurance, which was crucial during this marathon stage.

Rui Gonçalves – P5

“Yesterday, I started far back, and with the dust announced for the stage, it was hard to find a rhythm. I stayed patient, navigated well, and finished 15th, which was good for today’s starting position. I felt great on the bike and recovered well overnight for today’s marathon stage. Today went really well. The terrain was varied, with a lot of rocks and some sand as well. I found a good pace early, starting in 15th, and quickly caught up with Sanders and Schareina. We rode together for much of the stage. I stayed consistent throughout and focused on conserving my energy and the bike, knowing there’s no assistance tonight. Finishing in the top 5 is a fantastic result, and I’m very happy with the day!”

Behind Goncalves, the BAS World KTM Racing Team duo of Tobas Ebstar and Bradley Cox took sixth and seventh for the day, 10m14s and 10m55s off the pace.

Pablo Quintanilla arrived exhausted to the marathon bivouac in eighth as he rode for 400km of special stage with arm pump, as did Skyler Howes who was also surprised to suffer with too it after four hours of riding and finished 18th.

Lorenzo Santolino was tasked with leading the pack, navigating a strategic route while tackling the challenges of a malfunctioning navigation tablet. New this year, all Rally GP competitors are required to use digital tablets provided by the organization. Lorenzo received a replacement at the refuelling point, but it also had issues, which meant he had to rely on others for guidance at times, dropping time after his stage win yesterday.

Lorenzo Santolino – P8

“Yesterday was an amazing day with the stage win. It was a very special stage for me. From the start, in the rocky sections, I had a great feeling with the bike and navigation. I caught up with Canet and Quintanilla by kilometre 80. At the refuelling point, I saw I was in a strong position and decided to push hard for a good result. I gave it my all, following Quinta in the fast section, which helped me keep up the pace. In the more technical part, I took the lead and pushed until the end to secure the victory. Everything went perfectly, and I’m thrilled for myself, my family, my partners, and Sherco.

“Today, I started first, which is always tough since winning the previous stage means leading the way. Early on, I had problems with my navigation tablet—it froze, and I couldn’t change notes. I had to stop and wait for Ricky Brabec to catch up. We rode together, and he did a great job. At the neutralization point, the organizers gave me a new tablet, but it also malfunctioned. I ended up riding with a second group that included Quinta, Benavides, and Svitko. It was impossible to navigate alone with the tablet issues. Considering the circumstances, it was a solid result today, even though the stress of not knowing where to go in the middle of the desert made it very challenging.”

Edgar Canet continued to impress in his Dakar debut, pushing hard through the 415-kilometre timed special to finish as the second-fastest Rally2 competitor, also coming home in 12th place overall, behind Pablo Quintanilla, Romain Dumontier and Stefan Svitko.

Edgar’s impressive result ensured that the 19-year-old maintains his class lead in the provisional standings, where he holds a three-and-a-half-minute advantage after four stages of racing.

Edgar Canet – P12

“That was a long one with a lot of tough navigation and endless rocks for the first 180 kilometres. My rear tyre isn’t in the best condition, so I’ll spend most of my 30 minutes working on that to try and get it ready for tomorrow. It’s another long stage tomorrow but I’m looking forward to getting it done and having a rest day on Friday to recover.”

Despite a challenging start caused by navigation errors, Luciano managed to maintain a position within the top 15 throughout the demanding special, ultimately securing 14th place behind Aussie Toby Hederics who now sits 23rd overall. Argentinian Luciano will look to use his later start position to his advantage tomorrow and try to move up the leaderboard.

Luciano Benavides – P14

“Today was a really tough stage and I made a few big navigation mistakes near the beginning of the special, so I had to push like crazy after the refueling stop to try and get some time back. I’m pretty tired now but time to check over the bike and prepare for tomorrow!”

Ross Branch rounded out the top-15, followed by Neels Theric, Ricky Brabec, Skyler Howes, Jacob Argubright and Jaromir Romanik.

Ross Branch – P15

“It was a bit disappointing, it was a good day until the last 20 km and we made a big, big mistake and I guess that’s rally, so let’s see what happens tomorrow. This is a really tough Dakar so we’ll just have to see how it goes, tomorrow we’ll probably start a bit further back than I’d like but it’s racing and let’s see how we can fix it tomorrow. My tyre’s fine, bike’s fine, I’m good, so yeah, should be happy…”

Ricky Brabec – P17

“Definitely not the best day of the week. You know, I opened almost all day. I’m really happy with my riding, and I’m happy with my navigation. But, yeah, like, 15 kilometres back, man, we made a big mistake and that definitely killed us. But we’re here. We’re healthy. We’re walking, and nothing you could do about it. You know? Hopefully, some of the other guys followed the bad lines that we did. I mean, overall, I’m happy with how I’m performing. Obviously, my results aren’t showing that, but it’s rally. One moment you could be doing the best you’ve ever done, and then one note later, you lost your Dakar. So, that’s the way rally is. I opened up, yeah, from kilometre 3. So, it was a long day for me, and just yeah. The 4 notes a kilometre, the guy that opens really loses the race. So if you wanna win the Dakar, I suggest you never open, and you’ll win the Dakar. No problem.”

Kevin Benavides finished the day 30th.

Kevin Benavides – P30

“Today was hard again, especially the first really rocky sections. The stage was nice though, a good mix of difficulty throughout the special and starting further back was helpful as there were some lines ahead of me to follow. I’ve got my highest finish of the race so far and to be back in the top 20 after the difficult year I have had feels amazing.”

Aussie Andrew Houlihan had another strong stage, finishing in 69th position – two hours off leading pace, leaving him 104th in the overall standings.

Isle of Man TT road race star James Hillier continues to compete despite his earlier crash and finished the day in 82nd place and is currently 115th overall.

It proved to be a disappointing day for Toby Price and team-mate Sam Sunderland, the duo dropping down the Ultimate results to 55th out of 57 finishers for stage four, five and a half hours off the stage topping time. That saw them drop to 31st overall. Price was as high as second at one point early in the stage before running into some problems 300 kilometres in. The primary drama a broken axle which saw them have to wait for a service truck.

Ex MotoGP star Danilo Petrucci is competing in the Trucks category and finished the day in 14th.

Next –  Stage Five

Upon arrival at AlUla the riders had just 30 minutes to work on their bikes before they’re tucked away in Parc Fermé for the night when the marathon stage will resume as the route heads east to Ha’il on a 428 km special stage.  After what has been a very long week after the 48 Hour Chrono and this marathon stage, the riders will be able to relax with the rest day on Friday. 

2025 Dakar Rally Stage Four Results

2025 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Four

2025 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule