Stage 4 @ Dakar 2025: Price wins in SSV, Schareina & Nacho podium on bikes
Sara Price takes Stage 4 SSV victory at the Dakar Rally, as on the rally bikes Tosha goes 2nd and Jose “Nacho” Cornejo 3rd.
On the Monster Energy Honda & Hero rally bikes it was Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally) leading the way with a 2nd place fun on Stage 4, a mere 15 seconds back of overall Dakar motorcycle division leader Daniel Sanders (KTM). And rolling in with a strong 3rd place run, his first podium of the ’25 Dakar, was Jose “Nacho” Cornejo (Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy). Cornejo’s time of 05:18:22 would be just under eight minutes behind Cornejo and Daniels.
Rounding out the Stage 4 top ten for Monster Energy in the motorcycle division were Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally) in 4th place and Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy/Honda HRC) in 9th. Suffering some navigational issues late in the stage were defending Dakar champion, Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes, along with defending WRRC champion Ross Branch (Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy). The trio was up close to leaders Daniels and Schareina when they went off course. As of press time there was no reason why this occurred.
So with Sanders’ gift of time (4:57) from race officials on Stage 3 for what was deemed a “faulty tablet,” the exact same tablet used by many other racers experiencing the same issues, and coupled with the navigational issues Brabec and Howes and Branch encountered on Stage 4, Daniels now leads 2nd place Schareina by 13:26, with Branch back in 3rd (26:10 back). Howes (4th) and Brabec (5th) are 27 & 29 minutes back, respectively.
Thursday’s Stage 5 of the 2025 Dakar Rally, from Saudi Arabia’s Alula to Hail, opens on a ripper – fast tracks until they reach the sand, then things slow down. From there it’s on to the outskirts of Hail, with its stony terrain and varied/colorful landscapes. All totaled the 428 km Special will throw everything that Dakar is known for at the riders as they head into Friday’s Rest Day.
SARA PRICE TAKEs STAGE 4 SSV VICTORY!
What a difference a new Dakar stage makes! Having been all but down and out through four stages of SSV racing around Saudi Arabia, Monster Energy’s Sara Price (Can-Am) was mired way back in 30-something place, having dealt with a number of issues (fuel, engine). But Wednesday was a new day for her and her co-driver, Sean Berriman, and they took full advantage of it – matting the gas pedal on her new Can-Am Maverick R model and taking the Stage 4 SSV victory at the Dakar Rally, Round 1 of the 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
The win for the American Price, the second of her short career (’25 is Price’s second Dakar), saw Price top 2nd place “Chaleco” Lopez by more than a minute, with American Brock Heger, the new overall SSV class leader, placing 3rd.
"We've had a really rough Dakar. So we had a clean run today and it was so much fun out there. It was a fun stage, really rocky… like extremely rocky. I'm very impressed that the tires hold up like they do. We didn't want to be out at nighttime if we didn't have to. When you're in the nighttime and you're in dust, it's the same thing. You're just going slower." said Price.
Said Schareina: “Yes, it was really hard out there again. 400 ks, super hard sections again. I tried to push at the beginning, but for sure we had to save the bike. Save the tires. After refueling I caught up to Daniel (Sanders). I think he had missed some navigation. We were running together until the last part. I tried to go a little bit more slow to try and save it for tomorrow. I think it’s really, really tricky navigation. So yeah, 2nd place behind Daniel – by 15 seconds. I felt I liked that. This is Dakar.”
Said Branch: “Today was a super long day on the bike. Really long stage. But yeah, I enjoyed it. It was good fun, really technical. But I made a really big mistake when I was with Skyler (Howes) and Ricky (Branch) at the end of the stage. Unfortunately lost quite a bit of time. But hey, that’s rally racing and we learned from it. Tomorrow we’ll start a little further back, so we’ll have a few tracks to follow. Just going to go out, have a good time, enjoy it, and make it in one piece to the Rest Day. That’s the plan.”
STAGE 4 Notes:
- How about that Sara Price (Factory Can-Am)! From having fuel and engine issues in the previous stages to stepping up, with co-driver Sean Berriman, and winning Stage 4’s SSV class. She put a whooping on all the men!
- With Stage 4 in the books, the race standings are starting to show what those in the Dakar Rally refer to as the “Yo-Yo Effect.” This is where riders that win the stage have to open the following day, and will lose time. For Monster Energy racers, the good thing is, according to Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons, is that both the Honda HRC Rally and Hero Motosports teams have riders on both ends of the yo-yo. “So I feel we’re in a great position to continue to attack each day,” he said.
- Stage 5 is a “Marathon Stage,” according to race officials. Given that, and the pace the racers have been getting after it the past five days, Friday is officially a “Rest Day” on the Dakar Rally schedule.
- Following the Rest Day the Monster Energy motorcycle teams will each circle the wagons and plot out the strategy for the second half of the rally. The first half of the rally was about proper pacing, acclimating, and with as little as possible damage to the bikes. Riders work to stay strong and fit, so that the second half, after the Rest Day and reset, they can flat out attack the course each day – and all the way through Stage 12.
- “We aren’t focused on anyone else other than our race,” added Parsons. “Don’t try and chase that moving target. Because this race, if you force it, you’re going to make mistakes. You’ve got to let this race come to you.”
- The weather in Saudi Arabia continues to be extremely cold since the start of last week’s Prologue. 7 degrees in the morning or cooler. And darn close to 0-degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).
Monster Energy Dakar Stage Motorcycle Results
Place/Name/Team/Time
2nd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda)
05:10:48 (- minus 00:00:15)
3rd – Jose Cornejo (Hero/Monster Energy)
05:18:22 (- minus 00:07:49)
4th – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda)
05:18:41 (- minus 00:0:8:08)
Monster Energy Dakar Motorcycle Standings (after Stage 4)
Place/Name/Team/Time
2nd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda)
25:28:59 (- minus 00:13:26)
3rd – Ross Branch (Hero/Monster Energy)
25:41:43 (- minus 00:26:10)
4th – Skyler Howes (Monster Energy/Honda)
25:42:34 (- minus 00:27:01)
5th – Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda)
25:44:46 (- minus 00:29:13)
Monster Energy Dakar SSV Class
Stage 4 SSV Results
1st – Sara Price (Can-Am Factory Team)
05:13:38 (- minus 20:25:13)
Overall
27th – Sara Price (Can-Am Factory Team)
102:35:42 (- minus 76:10:02)
Up next…
Stage 5 of the 2025 Dakar Rally, from Saudi Arabia’s Alula to Hail, opens on a ripper – fast tracks until they reach the sand, then things slow down. From there it’s on to the outskirts of Hail, with its stony terrain and varied/colorful landscapes. All totaled the 428 km Special will throw everything that Dakar is known for at the riders as they head into Friday’s rest day. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com
