Schareina leads Dakar after marathon Stage Four

2026 Dakar Rally

Stage Four – Alula to Alula
(Marathon Part 1)

Tosha Schareina took the Dakar Stage Four win, making four stage wins to Spain of the five run so far – including the prologue. Riders undertook the opening half of the first marathon, with a 417 km special looping around AlUla, stopping at a temporary bivouac with no assistance for the night.

Tosha Schareina and Ricky Brabec were left tied on time in the general standings, giving Schareina the edge over the American, as the rules dictate the lead goes to whoever was fastest in the stage.

Ricky Brabec

The victory for Schareina also made him the third rider to lead the 2026 Dakar Rally, after Edgar Canet (prologue and stage 1) and Daniel Sanders (stages 2 and 3).

The Spaniard now holds the lead with a time of 16h45m40s, tied with teammate Brabec. Sanders dropped to third overall with a fifth placed performance for the stage – 1m24s off the leaders in the overall, followed by KTM teammates Edgar Canet (fourth at +11m22s) and Luciano Benavides (fifth at +13m09s).

Tosha Schareina

Stage Four saw Monster Energy Honda HRC (Schareina,  Brabec, Howes) secure the first team and manufacturer podium sweep of the 2026 edition with a six-second spread.

Ross Branch and his Hero finishing fourth only 16s off the leader, Australia’s Sanders rounding out the top five, 2m37s off the winner, followed by South American Ignacio Cornejo (+3m13s) and Luciano Benavides (+3m16s).

Daniel Sanders

Sanders struggled early on in the stage, falling behind by almost four-minutes, before the Australian picked up his pace in the latter part of the special, where navigation proved trickier for the first riders out, knocking that gap down to under two-minutes by km 374, before tapering back off to the final checkpoint.

Adrien Van Beveren conceded another five minutes, holding onto a top-10 position but now 27m24s behind the leaders, with an hour covering the top-10.

In Rally2 it was a historic moment as Kove became the fifth brand to win in the Rally2 class, following KTM, Husqvarna, Sherco and Honda. The achievement comes courtesy of the Frenchman Neels Theric, who took his first career victory ahead of Toni Mulec (+7m35s) and Preston Campbell (+8m41s).

That came at the misfortune of the previous Rally2 leaders, a broken wheel preventing Michael Docherty from reaching the bivouac, ensuring a huge penalty. Meanwhile, Martim Ventura lost almost two hours due to mechanical problems, making a podium finish for the duo a long shot.

Next: Stage Five

The second half of the first marathon will see riders head for Hail, with a 356 km special.

2026 Dakar Rally Stage Four Results
(Provisional)

1. T. SCHAREINA – 4:31:56
2. R. BRABEC +0m06
3. S. HOWES +0m10
4. R. BRANCH +0m16
5. D. SANDERS +2m37
6. I. CORNEJO +3m13
7. L. BENAVIDES +3m16
8. E. CANET +3m49
9. A. VAN BEVEREN +5m11
10. N. THERIC +10m22

2026 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Four
(Provisional)

1. T. SCHAREINA 16h45m40s
2. R. BRABEC +00m00
3. D. SANDERS +1m24
4. E. CANET +11m22
5. L. BENAVIDES +13m09
6. R. BRANCH +13m59
7. S. HOWES +14m38
8. I. CORNEJO +22m01
9. A. VAN BEVEREN +27m24
10. B. COX +1h01m23

2026 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule

2026 Dakar Rally route

2026 Dakar Rally route