Strategic moves and factory team gambles set the stage for all-out war on the final days of the 2026 Dakar Rally
American Skyler Howes on the Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally Team took his first career stage win today on stage 11 of the 2026 Dakar Rally. His first stage victory comes on his eighth year of Dakar competition and he becomes the ninth American to win a stage in the history of the race. As the 2026 Dakar Rally enters the final two stages, today's results set the stage for an all-out war between Honda and the Red Bull Factory KTM team.
Honda won the day, and set themselves up for potential success with Howes' teammate Adrian Van Beveren starting first on-course and powering his way into second on the day, helping his other American teammate Ricky Brabec massively. The Honda duo of Van Beveren and Brabec rode together for much of the day, sharing bonus time and even slowing down intentionally to secure a more favorable starting position tomorrow for Brabec.
KTM RallyGP rookie Edgar Canet put himself back into the fight with a third place finish and Luciano Benevides finished fourth. Honda's Tosha Schareina rounds out the top five. The results of the day mean Benavides leads the overall rally competition by a mere 23 seconds over Brabec, but the KTM rider will start two postions ahead on tomorrow's decisive stage. Brabec will have a more favorable starting spot, looking to race to the front.
Enjoy today's show as we get down to the wire in this very tight race!