Tosha Schareina delivered a stunning fightback for Monster Energy Honda HRC, powering to victory as Rally-Raid Portugal crossed into Spain. The 2024 winner held off fierce competition and was joined on the stage podium by teammate Adrien Van Beveren, who maintained his strong front-running form.

Tosha Schareina: At the beginning it rained so much, we had so many puddles and it wasn’t easy. It was so fast at the start and I wasn’t comfortable, but from the middle to the end of the stage I felt better on my bike. During the second part in Spain the sun was shining, all the crowds were pushing us on which was really good. Finally a stage win! We will race again in Spain tomorrow which is extra motivation.

After yesterday’s punishing, waterlogged conditions, stage two took the riders across the border into Spain and with over 500 km on the menu, riders were hoping for drier weather as they left the very wet Grândola bivouac at 5 a.m. The day began with a 121 km liaison before the timed 377 km special started from Salvaterra de Magos. Having spent the first two days riding on sand, the terrain shifted dramatically, with rugged sections through demanding mountain passes to farmland stretches.

Schareina started the day in second and eagerly anticipated returning to Spain. A thrilling battle ensued with Van Beveren as the teammates traded positions at the early checkpoints. After refuelling, Rally 2 rider Bruno Santos emerged as Schareina’s main rival, holding a lead of over a minute and a half. But the Spaniard was relentless: on the final stretch into Badajoz, he powered through, slicing the gap to just 21 seconds with 25 km left to go. In what became one of the closest stages in World Rally-Raid Championship history, Schareina edged Santos by just two seconds, claiming his fifth career stage win of this rally and slashing his overall deficit to Daniel Sanders to 1’18”.

Van Beveren, meanwhile, showcased his skill in the slippery, muddy conditions on his Honda CRF450 RALLY. Despite a faulty GPS beacon that left his exact position unclear and a brief stoppage after hitting a deep puddle, he held steady to finish second, 47 seconds behind Schareina, solidifying third place overall.

Ricky Brabec bounced back from yesterday’s two-minute penalty, staying close to the leaders in the early sections. A minor off in the slippery conditions slowed him down, and he finished sixth, 3’51” back and he now sits fourth overall.

Skyler Howes, transitioning from the dry desert to Portugal’s wet, mountainous terrain, rode with caution to avoid any mishaps. His steady approach brought him home seventh, 6’13” down, as a fierce battle in the overall standings now looms from fourth place down to eighth.

With more rain expected, the rally remains in Spain tomorrow. A 297 km loop from Badajoz promises more high-stakes action, with Honda riders aiming to stay within striking distance of Sanders before the rally returns to Portugal the following day.

Ruben Faria -General Manager: We’ve arrived in Badajoz and the stage went pretty much as I expected - fast sandy tracks at the start, then more technical mountain sections once we crossed into Spain. It was a really good day for us with Tosha taking the stage win and clawing back some time on Daniel.
Tomorrow will be tough and hopefully the rain stays away. Tosha will start first and it’ll be a day he needs to control carefully as he can’t afford to lose too much time. Adrien also rode really well, finishing second. He’s happy with his performance and sits third overall, so he’s motivated for the next three days. Ricky lost a bit of time today, finishing sixth, but he’s still very much in the fight in fifth overall. Despite a couple of small mistakes, Skyler rode solidly to finish seventh. He’s happy with his performance and continues to improve every day.

Ricky Brabec: Another mostly wet day. We started out at 5am, pouring rain down on the liaison. The first half of the special it was raining on and off so it was another wet one. Overall, it was good, although I lost the front end, slid out with the bike, but just picked it back up and kept going. The second part of the special was here in Spain and it was dry as there hasn’t been any rain here, so that was something different for a change. Tomorrow we have a loop around Badajoz and it's showing rain, so let’s gear up for more rain and let’s keep trying to make it to the finish line.

Skyler Howes: We got every single type of terrain and weather thrown at us today, full downpour, wet dirt, mud holes, water and then we made our way into Spain onto some slippery, hard pack dusty roads and then the sun came out and it warmed up. It was a big change of pace today. To be totally honest, I rode really cautiously on the mountain roads, I had one issue where I slid off and I just didn’t want to do that again so I toned it back. But otherwise, other than that one issue I feel like I rode really good today, but really cautiously, so happy to make it to Spain and we’ve got another day here tomorrow.

Adrien Van Beveren: It was good although I did get some water in the bike, I went too fast in a puddle and the bike stopped. Fortunately, I could restart and continue and then just tried to manage some twisty and tricky places on the route. To be honest, it reminded me of the zone I crashed in last year. But later on in the stage I had fun and enjoyed it.