The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2025 seems to have found its winner in the motorcycle category after the fourth and penultimate stage. Unfortunately, it won’t be Tosha Schareina, the Spanish rider from Sling, who has won three out of the five stages contested so far, including the prologue. Schareina will have a tough time recovering from the 9:11 minutes that separate him from the leader, Daniel Sanders, an Australian rider from KTM.
Sanders appears to have strategically chosen his attack days, recovering 9 minutes from Schareina on day two and endorsing 10 and a half minutes today, taking advantage of the fact that the Spanish rider opened the track. This puts Sanders in a comfortable position to defend his lead tomorrow on a short 167-kilometer day, with a nearly 7.5-minute advantage over Ricky Brabec and almost 9 minutes over Luciano Benavides.
For Schareina, the focus shifts to securing a podium spot, with the Valencian rider less than half a minute from third place and less than two minutes from second position. These will be his objectives for the final day.
Current Motorcycle Classification
The current standings after stage 4 are:
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Ricky Brabec (Honda) at 7:23
3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) at 8:46
4. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) at 9:07
5. Tosha Schareina (Honda) at 9:11
A Setback for Loeb
In the cars category, the stage is still underway, but the attention is on Sébastien Loeb, who has encountered problems with his Dacia. Loeb overturned in the first part of the special, breaking the Sandrider suspension. This setback means goodbye to his options of winning his first rally with the French team, although he might continue tomorrow if the FIA allows it.