Benavides takes back to back stage wins, while Chucky’s’ lead grows to nearly 15 minutes with just three days of the rally remaining
Stage nine of the 2025 Dakar Rally delivered yet another day of challenging terrain and high-speed competition as riders covered a 357-kilometre timed special from Riyadh to Haradh, accompanied by an additional 232 kilometres of liaison. The stage demanded skill and precision, with the route weaving through rough terrain, canyons, and riverbeds before reaching the gateway to the vast Empty Quarter desert.
Daniel Sanders continued to show his remarkable speed and consistency, leading the stage until past the halfway mark. The Australian set the fastest time at the first checkpoint, building momentum early in the stage. However, complex navigation following the first refuelling point led to small but costly errors, preventing him from taking his fifth stage win of the rally. Despite this, Sanders secured a strong third-place finish, maintaining a commanding overall lead of nearly 15 minutes as the race prepares to enter the daunting dunes of the Empty Quarter.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides continued his red-hot form, claiming his second consecutive stage win. Leading from the front, the Argentinian navigated the special with minimal errors, earning nearly five minutes in bonus time for his leadership on the course. Finishing close to two minutes ahead of his nearest rival, Benavides consolidated his fourth-place position in the overall standings. With three stages remaining, he is on track to achieve the best Dakar finish of his career.

Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Adrien Van Beveren impressed yet again, riding to an excellent second-place finish. A couple of navigation hiccups on the fast, stony tracks early in the stage caused minor delays, but the Frenchman recovered well to finish just under two minutes behind Benavides. Van Beveren also capitalised on teammate Tosha Schareina’s difficult day, gaining six minutes on the Spaniard in the overall classification. Closing in on the runner-up spot, Van Beveren remains focused on securing a second consecutive Dakar podium.

Tosha Schareina entered stage nine determined to chip away at Sanders’ lead, but a fall just 20 kilometres into the special halted his momentum. Fortunately uninjured, the Spaniard quickly recovered, riding alongside teammate Ricky Brabec for much of the stage to push to the finish. Despite his efforts, Schareina could only manage seventh on the day, conceding 3’42” to Sanders, with the gap between the two now extended to 14’45”. With only three stages remaining, the Spaniard still has work to do to challenge for the top spot.

American riders Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes both produced solid rides, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Brabec’s experience in the Haradh region, which has featured in prior Dakar routes, served him well as he held steady in fifth overall. Howes, too, impressed with his reliable performance, maintaining sixth in the general classification heading into the rally’s decisive stages. Brabec remains optimistic about the potential shake-ups awaiting in the Empty Quarter, a region known for its unpredictability.

With just three stages remaining, the route enters the heart of the Empty Quarter—the most fearsome section of the Dakar Rally. Tomorrow’s stage will feature a shorter 116-kilometre timed special within a total distance of 520 kilometres, primarily composed of road sections. However, the intensity will be dialled up as riders face the enormous and unforgiving dunes of the Empty Quarter. Not only are the peaks breathtaking, but the soft sand in the dips poses significant risks, with organisers deliberately designing the course to test even the most experienced competitors. As the rally reaches its climax, surprises may yet be sprung, and the battle for overall victory remains far from over.
Adrien Van Beveren – P2: “It was again a very tough day with the navigation, the rough terrain had a lot of stones and we rode through some really destroyed places, canyons and riverbeds. I made some small mistakes in the navigation as I couldn’t find the piste, then I went off track in the stones and lost quite a bit of time. I then saw Luciano was on the gas so I had to push as well and I only caught him at the very end, but overall it was a good solid day. There are still many kilometres to go so I will give my best to the end.”
Ricky Brabec – P4: “Today was good, it was kind of a fast special and there wasn’t much to do today, it was more of a transfer day. I caught my teammate Tosha early on after his crash and we rode together the whole day. I’m happy with the ride and how things are going. There’s only a couple of days left to go, so I think for tomorrow we’re in a good position to gauge what’s going to happen and then go full attack on stage eleven. Nothing’s impossible and nothing’s out of sight. We just have to keep working at it.”
Skyler Howes – P5: “Stage nine was probably one of the fastest ones of the whole rally, we were on the speed limiter at 160km/h for a lot of the day through the fast tracks. There was a lot of gravel, some big ditches and also some tricky navigation. Out in the zone they bulldozed these new roads, I think they’re out to look for oil or something and there’s a lot of the tracks out there, so it was very easy to get tripped up and think you were on a good track and that’s what happened to me after the refuelling. I had a really good stage going in the first half, clipping some minutes off and then I just kind of got stuck in this boulder like field, so I lost a couple of minutes there, but overall I had a pretty good stage, it was really fast and kind of my style. We’ve done this stage probably three or four times now, obviously some differences in there, but more or less the same zone, same kind of route. I’m always a fan of this one and I always seem to get caught out by this stuff, so I look forward to next time I’m in this zone when I can have a good run at it. It was a positive day in fifth, puts us in a good position to push on on a very long day in the saddle tomorrow as we head to the Empty Quarter.”
2025 Dakar Rally, Stage 9 results
Pos. | N° | Drive-Team | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 |
(arg) LUCIANO BENAVIDES
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 03h 15′ 38” |
2 | 42 |
(fra) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 03h 17′ 32” |
3 | 4 |
(aus) DANIEL SANDERS
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 03h 18′ 42” |
4 | 9 |
(usa) RICKY BRABEC
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 03h 19′ 17” |
5 | 10 |
(usa) SKYLER HOWES
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 03h 20′ 18” |
6 | 11 | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 03h 20′ 33” | |
7 | 68 |
(esp) TOSHA SCHAREINA
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 03h 22′ 24” |
8 | 21 |
(fra) MATHIEU DOVEZE
|
BAS world KTM racing team | 03h 27′ 56” |
9 | 15 |
(esp) LORENZO SANTOLINO
|
SHERCO RALLY FACTORY | 03h 30′ 23” |
10 | 73 |
(esp) EDGAR CANET
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 03h 31′ 16” |
General Standings – 2025 Dakar Rally (after 9 of 12 stages)
Pos. | N° | Drive-Team | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 |
(aus) DANIEL SANDERS
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 47h 45′ 34” |
2 | 68 |
(esp) TOSHA SCHAREINA
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 48h 00′ 19” |
3 | 42 |
(fra) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 48h 05′ 55” |
4 | 77 |
(arg) LUCIANO BENAVIDES
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 48h 13′ 18” |
5 | 9 |
(usa) RICKY BRABEC
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 48h 17′ 05” |
6 | 10 |
(usa) SKYLER HOWES
|
MONSTER ENERGY HONDA HRC | 48h 24′ 13” |
7 | 11 | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 48h 40′ 57” | |
8 | 73 |
(esp) EDGAR CANET
|
RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 49h 19′ 10” |
9 | 96 |
(aut) TOBIAS EBSTER
|
BAS world KTM racing team | 49h 57′ 15” |
10 | 142 |
(svk) STEFAN SVITKO
|
SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 49h 58′ 53” |