The second marathon stage kicks off for the 2026 Dakar Rally. This is the stage nine show from Dakar Rally Daily.
We have a great show for you today covering stage nine of the 2026 Dakar Rally. We cover all the motorcycle classes and get a great interview with one of the best stories out of the Malle Moto/Original by Motul class.
Up front, Monster Energy Honda HRC racer Tosha Schareina got the stage win today over Red Bull Factory KTM's Daniel Sanders by more than four minutes. Schareina took advantage of his fourth place starting position on the day and a tricky navigation note at kilometer 35 to close the gap and get up front. His teammate Ricky Brabec also caught the leading KTM duo up front of Sanders and Luciano Benevides and the four rode together for the rest of the stage. However, Schareina and Sanders pulled away over the stage, sharing the bulk of available lead-out bonus time and pushing Brabec outside the front-running bubble. Brabec would finish fourth today, 6:22 back from the lead.
Rally2 competitor Mike Docherty had a blistering stage, greasing the navigation challenge that caught the leaders out and using his 16th starting position to chase down the RallyGP guys. His performance put him third overall on the day, only 15 second behind Sanders without any bonus time - a fantastic ride from the South African.
American Skyler Howes would finish fifth on the stage aboard his Honda, nearly eight minutes off the lead.
In the general standing, Sanders regains the lead with a 6:24 cushion over Brabec. Benevides now sits third, seven minutes behind Sanders. Schareina really moved up, now sitting in fourth, about eight minutes behind Benevides with his sights on podium finish by the end of the race.
Kove's Neels Theric finished second in Rally2 today, with American Preston Campbell coming in third behind Docherty and Theric, riding well enough to remain in 9th overall in the general standings and increasing his lead for the first of many days over Toni Mulec in the Rally2 category. Campbell now has more than 17 minutes to spare after gaining more than eight minutes today.
Malle Moto/Original by Motul competitors continue to pace well with Josep Pedro and Benjamin Melot finishing 11th and 12th, respectively on today's stage.