Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Tosha Schareina made the strongest statement possible in his first participation of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with a fantastic second consecutive stage win.
With the riders getting their first taste of the expansive Arabian dunes, stage one today provided a true test of skill and endurance over the 243km special stage as they navigated away from the first bivouac at Al Ain across to the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Liwa region and onto the finish line at Mezaira’a.
As the prologue winner, Schareina secured a prime starting position for today, setting tenth off the line that played into the Spaniard’s hands as the heat of the day rose. He mastered the sandy terrain and dunes to finish nearly two minutes ahead of second place finisher Ricky Brabec. This result has put him firmly at the top of the overall standings with a 2’07” margin over his Honda teammate.
A late charge from Brabec, the 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge runner up, saw him move up from fifth during the stage as some key adjustments he’d made to his Honda CRF450 RALLY last week in testing helped him hand over fist towards a fast finish.
With the difficult task as one of the opening riders today, Adrien Van Beveren was joined on the stage by Rally 2 rider Michael Docherty as the pair set the pace together at the front. Although he finished the day over seven minutes behind Schareina, the Frenchman had expected to lose time with no tracks to follow, however, he came away pleased with his performance.
Happy to get to the finish was eighth placed Skyler Howes who relished the challenges of the soft sand even if some small mistakes lost him time as he continued to adapt his Honda CRF450 RALLY setup for the desert.
Stage two will be a 302km loop around Mezaira’a as they head into the iconic Rub’ Al Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter that is one of the world’s most legendary and mesmerising desert landscapes that spans parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The towering dunes, some of which can be over 250 metres high, will test the riders both physically and mentally under the intense heat.
