Ricky Brabec stormed through the final stage of this year’s South African Safari Rally, securing an impressive stage win to cap off the event.
The last day of rally-raid action in South Africa was shaping up to be a thrilling one, with all the Monster Energy Honda HRC riders pushing hard to grab a last-minute stage victory. With only 111 km of special stage remaining, there was no room for error across the expansive grasslands.
Brabec came out strong from the start setting the fastest time at the first checkpoint, with his teammates Skyler Howes and Adrien Van Beveren, hot on his heels, just one second behind. As the stage progressed, Brabec faced stiff competition from Daniel Sanders and Luciano Benavides and although he briefly lost the lead midway through, trailing by just eight seconds, he responded with a determined surge in the closing kilometres to reclaim the top spot and win the stage by 42 seconds.
It was a strong finish for the American, who not only took the stage victory but also secured third place overall claiming the final step on the podium.
Skyler Howes was competitive early on, navigating the gravel tracks with confidence. However, he eventually finished the stage in sixth place, 5’09” behind Brabec. Ending the rally in fifth overall and out of podium contention, Howes now turns his focus to training during the summer break ahead of the World Rally-Raid Championship’s return in September.
Adrien Van Beveren, who began the day with a slim 25-second advantage over Brabec for the final podium spot, was optimistic aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY. Unfortunately, technical issues with his road book tablet caused significant delays. Struggling both to fix the device and to navigate without it, Van Beveren lost valuable time and ultimately finished the stage in eighth place. It was a frustrating end to his rally, dropping him off the podium by a margin of five minutes.
In the World Rally-Raid Championship standings, Ricky Brabec now leads the Honda charge with 53 points, placing him third overall. Adrien Van Beveren follows closely, just five points behind, while Skyler Howes holds sixth place with 35 points. After withdrawing from this rally, Tosha Schareina drops from second to fifth in the standings, now sitting on 46 points.
With the summer break ahead, the Monster Energy Honda HRC team will return to competition at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, scheduled for 22–28 September.
