Tosha Schareina wins Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge’s Stage 3, takes control of o/a lead

The opening day of the Marathon Stage, Stage 3 of the of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Round 2 of the 2025 FIM World Rally Raid Championship) was a wild one as a massive sandstorm ripped through the Empty Quarter desert, disrupting the automobile class – but not the tough-as-nails dirt bike racers as Monster Energy’s Tosha Schareina (Honda HRC Rally) came away with the important victory, with his teammate, Ricky Brabec, joining him on the Stage 3 podium in 3^rd place at Marathon Camp, United Arab Emirates.

Having already won the Prologue and Stage 1, the Stage 3 victory, his third of the competition thus far, advanced Schareina into sole possession of 1^st place overall in the class, 1:25 ahead of 2^nd place Daniel Sanders (KTM).

“The day was pretty good for me,” said Schareina. “I had some problems at the beginning. The first 150 km (of 237 km Special racing) through the refueling, I had some problems with the (navigational) tablet. It was not working. I could not change the notes at the waypoint. In the refueling, we changed the tablet. Then after that everything was working good. So yeah, we did it.”

Added Brabec, who moved up to 4^th overall in the standing, just under three minutes (2:53) back of Schareina: “The stage was good… first half was fast and the second half became more tricky with the soft sand. Happy with how everything went, but disappointed I’m not making up much time. For tomorrow it’s a good position, but I believe tomorrow is going to be fast. So for now we’ll keep fighting to get a podium.”

Just missing the Stage 2 podium was ’23 ADDC champ, Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Adrien Van Beveren, who brought ‘er home in 4^th position with a time of 3:13:16 (3:18 behind Schareina).

“It was a tough stage,” said Van Beveren, who moved up to 6^th place overall in the standings. “Honestly, there was a lot of dunes, not so many fast areas. The wind sometimes made the lines less visible.”

Rounding out the top ten for Monster Energy in Stage 3 was Skyler Howes (Honda HRC Rally) with another solid 5^th place finish. And a couple spots back of Howes, in 7^th place, was Jose “Nacho” Cornejo (Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy). Both Cornejo and Howes are well within the top ten overall after the Prologue and three stages of racing in Abu Dhabi with Cornejo in 5^th and Howes in 7^th.

Stage 3 Notes:

• The Stage 3 conditions, with wind and blowing sand, got so burly at one point that ADDC Race Control actually stopped the race due to safety concerns. This was after the bikes had made it to Marathon Camp, arriving to no team support – or any of their stuff (as Howes explains below).
• Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Howes continues to improve and gain time as he locked down his second top five finish in a row with a 5^th in Stage 3. “Today’s stage was another improvement for me. I’m gaining more confidence in the bike and finding a good pace early into the stage.”
• Howes added that Stage 3 featured a challenging mix of fast plateaus and lake beds, along with some more technical dunes. As for the team accommodations at Marathon Camp, Howes communicated from his satellite phone: “(Fu… CENSORED). Full sand storm out here. None of our stuff is here yet.”
• Marathon Camp is not at the end of the world – but you can just about see it from there. One of the more remote places in the region, Al Qua’a in the Empty Quarter desert is a favorite spot for star gazers as it’s, quite literally, pitch black at night. Zero light pollution.
• Said EMSO President H.E. Khalid Ben Sulayem: “The Marathon Stage is always one of the most intense phases of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, truly testing the resilience of the competitors.” Normally just reserved for the motorcycle division competitors, this year’s ADDC Marathon Stage welcomed the car competitors for the first time in the event’s 34-year history.
• The second half of the Marathon Stage, Stage 4, brings competitors back to Mezaira’a through the Empty Quarter. The 300 km Special in Stage 4 is the event’s longest and, arguably, the most demanding Special stage as competitors face the day without having the luxury of their usual bivouac accommodations and team (Honda & Hero) support.
• “It was a lot faster than a lot of people expected it to be,” said Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons of the Stage 3 conditions. “We thought we (Monster Energy-backed motorcycle division racers) make up more time throughout the stage. But any time we got back was really made up in the last 50 kilometers.”
• Parsons’ advice for his racers in Stage 4: ‘Ride smart, give ‘er the berries, and we’ll see what Mother Nature throws at us.”

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Stage 3 results

1^st – Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda), 3:09:58

3^rd – Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda), 3:12:34

4^th – Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda), 3:13:36

5^th – Howes (Monster Energy/Honda), 3:13:38

Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge overall standings top five (Prologue through Stage 3)

1^st – Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda), 09:21:43

4^th – Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda), 09:24:36

5^th – Cornejo (Hero/Monster Energy), 09:27:53

Monster Energy WRRC Motorcycle Standings (after Round 2, Dakar)

Place/Name/Team

2^nd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda)              

3^rd – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda)                     

5^th – Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda)

6^th – Skyler Howes (Monster Energy/Honda)

7^th – Jose “Nacho” Cornejo (Hero/Monster Energy)

Up next…

Wednesday’s Stage No. 4 of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship’s Abu Dhabi Challenge continues the two part Marathon Stage, running from Marathon Camp to Mezeer’ah with a grinding 300 km Special and linked with 94 kms of Liaison. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.worldrallyraidchampionship.com