Published On: January 15, 2026
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DThe eleventh Dakar stage was won by Honda rider Skyler Howes. Teammate Ricky Brabec lost his lead in the standings in a tough final phase. 

The riders traveled from Bisha to Al Henakiyah, covering nearly 900 kilometers, 346 kilometers of which were special stages. The route included dunes, rocks, and unpaved paths. Despite his crash on Wednesday, the courageous defending champion Daniel Sanders (KTM) returned to the start line with a taped shoulder. He finished an impressive thirteenth, ten minutes behind Howes.

Daniel Sanders left today despite a broken collarbone.

Within the Honda team, the battle for the stage victory was between Howes, Brabec, and Adrien Van Beveren. Van Beveren led the stage and received a time bonus, but Howes was ultimately fastest with a time of just over three hours and nine minutes. Van Beveren was just 21 seconds behind. Brabec lost five minutes and dropped behind KTM riders Edgar Canet and Luciano Benavides.

Jérôme Martiny finished well in the top thirty again today, finishing 28th overall. In the unassisted standings, he remains in third place, seven minutes behind the leader.

With two stages remaining, Benavides leads the general classification by just 23 seconds over Brabec. Tosha Schareina remains in third place, but is fifteen minutes behind. Friday sees the penultimate stage from Al Henakiyah to Yanbu (310 km special). It promises to be a thrilling finale between the KTM and Honda riders.

Stage 11

1
010 – S. HOWES (USA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h09m02s + 00: 00: 00 –:–:–
2
042 – A. VAN BEVEREN (FRA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h09m23s + 00: 00: 21 –:–:–
3
073 – E. CANET (ESP)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY
 3h10m17s + 00: 01: 15 –:–:–
4
077 – L. BENAVIDES (ARG)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY
 3h12m39s + 00: 03: 37 –:–:–
5
068 – T. SCHAREINA (ESP)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h13m08s + 00: 04: 06 –:–:–
6
009 – R. BRABEC (USA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h13m58s + 00: 04: 56 –:–:–
7
007 – B. COX (RSA)
Sherco | 450 RALLY
 3h17m03s + 00: 08: 01 –:–:–
8
046 – R. BRANCH (BOT)
HERO | 450 RALLY
 3h18m02s + 00: 09: 00 –:–:–
9
016 – T. MULEC (SLO)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY REPLICA
 3h18m35s + 00: 09: 33 –:–:–
10
084 – M. VENTURA (FOR)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h18m36s + 00: 09: 34 –:–:–
28
025 – J. MARTINY (BEL)
HONDA | CRF 450
 3h42m17s + 00: 33: 15 –:–:–

 

Interim score

1
077 – L. BENAVIDES (ARG)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY
 44h48m48s + 00: 00: 00 –:–:– -00:10:04 (1)
2
009 – R. BRABEC (USA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 44h49m11s + 00: 00: 23 –:–:– -00:18:16 (2)
3
068 – T. SCHAREINA (ESP)
HONDA | CRF 450
 45h04m04s + 00: 15: 16 + 00: 10: 00 -00:23:35 (3)
4
001 – D. SANDERS (AUS)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY
 45h12m20s + 00: 23: 32 + 00: 06: 00 -00:21:39 (4)
5
010 – S. HOWES (USA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 45h23m08s + 00: 34: 20 + 00: 02: 00 -00:01:05 (5)
6
042 – A. VAN BEVEREN (FRA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 45h43m01s + 00: 54: 13 –:–:– -00:08:13 (6)
7
011 – I. CORNEJO (CHI)
HERO | 450 RALLY
 45h59m38s + 01: 10: 50 –:–:– -00:03:59 (7)
8
046 – R. BRANCH (BOT)
HERO | 450 RALLY
 47h14m44s + 02: 25: 56 + 00: 06: 10 –:–:– (8)
9
016 – T. MULEC (SLO)
KTM | 450 RALLY FACTORY REPLICA
 47h25m26s + 02: 36: 38 + 00: 00: 10 –:–:– (9)
10
085 – P. CAMPBELL (USA)
HONDA | CRF 450
 47h27m53s + 02: 39: 05 –:–:– –:–:– (10)
22
025 – J. MARTINY (BEL)
HONDA | CRF 450
 52h04m11s + 07: 15: 23 + 00: 06: 00 –:–:– (22)

 

Tekst: Danny Hermans

Photos: Ado Bauer