Stage 7 - Dakar 2025: Tosha Schareina 2nd in stage, remains 2nd overall

With five grueling stages remaining at Dakar, testing both man and machine to absolute extremes, the seemingly substantial lead by Daniel Sanders can disappear in a second – or certainly over a couple stages.

“We are in a good position, and ready for battle tomorrow,” said Schareina, noting that, with the win, Sanders is the first bike out in the morning. And this can be a highly difficult position to be in, especially when considering the navigation pitfalls – like having no tracks to follow.

Joining Schareina in Stage 7’s top five on Sunday were teammates Pablo Quintanilla (4^th) and Adrien Van Beveren in 5^th. Van Beveren is also on the overall podium in 3^rd place, trailing Sanders by 26:07. And rounding out the top ten on the bikes was Hero Motorsports, fueled by Monster Energy’s Jose “Nacho” Cornejo in 7^th and defending Dakar Rally champion Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally) in 10^th. Also back on the top ten graphic, in the SSV class, was Monster Energy’s Sara Price (Can-Am Factory Team), who, along with her co-driver Sean Berriman, placed a respectable 8^th.

Overall, it’s Schareina leading the way for Monster Energy in 2^nd place overall, followed by Van Beveren in 3^rd, Brabec in 4^th, Howes in 5^th and Quintanilla in 7^th. Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy’s Cornejo is in 8^th.

Now past the Dakar’s midway point, Stage 8, from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, sees another split course for bikes and cars. The route opens at nearly 1,000 meters above sea level, then drops, consistently, for more than 500 meters prior to the finish. Muscles ache. Hands are holding onto the bars for dear life. Feet are barking. Backs are stiffening up. And the mind, if it hasn’t already, begins to play tricks on you. It’s at this point of the race where champions step up.

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Said Van Beveren: "I started second today, right behind Ricky (Brabec). I did a mistake at kilometer 30, then I opened it up from there. We were together with Ricky, Tosha (Schareina) and Nacho (Cornejo also joined. It was good. I tried to really push, create a good rhythm from the beginning. And because of the rain, I knew I had to push harder because the guys behind us could see our lines. So it was a good day and we look forward to the next one. Still a long ways to go, but I tried to stay consistent.”

Said Brabec: “Stage 7. I opened today. Never easy to open. Tricky. Been tricky every single day, no matter if you’re opening or not. But definitely the guy opening loses. And, unfortunately, some guy’s got to do it. And today that guy was me. But I’m happy to be here. I’m in one piece. And that’s what matters most. Couple days to go. Tomorrow, I’m in a really good spot to claw back a bit of time. (Overall) podium’s still in reach. So, it would be awesome to get Monster one, two, three on the podium at the end. Next couple days, I’m gonna try like hell to get myself on the podium. We haven’t had much luck at this Dakar, but that’s fine. Dakar’s not easy. It’s meant to be hard. And we’ll do everything we can to get to where we want to be – and won’t stop until we’re happy.”

Said Quintanilla: “Stage number seven is in the books. It was a tough one. Raining really hard before we arrived to the start of the Special. And also, it was raining hard at the end of the Special. But for me, honestly, it was a very good day. I enjoyed my riding. It was a super-fast special. Tricky notes were between some canyons, so you have to be really good with your road book. And in the middle was some sandy sections, with some dunes to cross. But for me, it was OK. I had a good pace from the start, so I can’t complain.”

Stage 7 Notes:

• Over the weekend, Monster Energy had a cool guest show up to the bivouac – Monster Energy’s professional rally and rallycross racer Petter Solberg. The 2003 World Rally Championship overall Driver’ World Title winner with Subaru, “Mr. Hollywood,” as Solberg’s known, was a big hit in the bivouac with the Dakar competitors.
• Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sport, Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, a grandson of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, dropped by the Al Duwadimi bivouac and spent some time with Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons and the Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally and Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy, teams. A former race car driver himself, Prince Abdulaziz won the first GT3 European championship round at Portugal’s Algarve International Circuit, so he’s keen on what goes in to winning at Dakar.
• The start of Stage 7 was delayed for some time due to weather as the helicopter rescue crew worked to position themselves throughout the route. Very chilly conditions, according to the Monster Energy-backed racers from both Honda and Hero, and it was raining.
• Monster Energy’s Brabec, the defending Dakar Rally champ, was the first to blink on Stage 7 as a navigational mistake at the 30 km mark erased all his start time, allowing teammate Van Beveren to catch up.
• Quick fact: Not only does Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally have all of its racers still active in the race, with four in the top five (Schareina, Van Beveren, Brabec and Howes, who’s 6^th, but a 2:00 penalty looming over Luciano Benavides’ (KTM) head has Howes in 5^th in real time). And close back in 7^th is Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Quintanilla. So there’s definitely strength in numbers for the Monster Energy/Honda program.

Monster Energy Dakar Stage 7 Motorcycle Results

Place/Name/Team/Time

3^rd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda)
04:14:20 (- minus 00:03:47        

4^th –  Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy/Honda)
04:16:00 (- minus 00:05:27)

5^th – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda)
04:17:29 (- minus 00:06:56)

Monster Energy Dakar Motorcycle Standings (after Stage 7)

Place/Name/Team/Time

2^nd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda)
39:44:55 (- minus 00:15:33)

3^rd – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda) 
39:55:29 (- minus 00:26:07)

4^th – Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda)
40:02:41 (- minus 00:33:19)

Monster Energy Dakar SSV Class

Stage 7 SSV Results

8^th – Sara Price (Can-Am Factory Team)
(- minus 00:22:18)

Overall

28^th – Sara Price (Can-Am Factory Team)
121:30:45 (- minus 58:00:10)

Up next…

Now past the Dakar’s midway point, Stage 8, from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, sees another split course for bikes and cars. The route opens at nearly 1,000 meters above sea level, then drops, consistently, for more than 500 meters prior to the finish. Muscles ache. Hands are holding onto the bars for dear life. Feet are barking. Backs are stiffening up. And the mind, if it hasn’t already, begins to play tricks on you. It’s at this point of the race where champions step up. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com