The fourth stage of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF, from San Rafael back to San Juan over a 306-kilometre special, produced the most dramatic day of the rally so far. KTM proved beatable on two wheels for the first time, and in the car category lower starting positions reshuffled the standings at the top. Tomorrow’s final stage will decide who stands on the podium in San Juan.
The stage once again ran through extreme altitudes above 3,000 metres, with freezing temperatures, deep ravines and technical mountain trails, followed by fast tracks to the finish. For those hit hard the previous day, it was a chance for recovery, and that chance was taken.
Schareina breaks KTM stranglehold, Sanders loses minutes but holds on
For the first time this week, Daniel Sanders did not win a stage on two wheels. Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) seized his moment and led an all-Honda podium. The Spaniard started third and quickly found his rhythm. Even after being forced to open the track at kilometre 210, he stayed composed and rode to his first stage win of the week, also the 25th W2RC stage victory of his career. Teammate Ricky Brabec finished second at 1 minute 18 seconds, Skyler Howes third at 3 minutes 10 seconds.
Sanders had a difficult start to the stage, losing more than 9 minutes to a navigation error. The Australian recovered and limited the damage, but ultimately conceded 6 minutes and 20 seconds to Schareina. His overall lead shrank from nearly 14 minutes to 7 minutes and 16 seconds over Schareina. Ricky Brabec climbed back to third overall at 14 minutes 10 seconds. Luciano Benavides sits fourth at 15 minutes 12 seconds and has his sights set on his compatriots in San Juan, aiming to repeat his Dakar 2026 performance when he passed Brabec on the final day. Howes is fifth overall at 18 minutes 19 seconds. Adrien Van Beveren finished seventh and remains sixth in the overall standings.
Sainz writes Ford into the history books, Quintero takes the lead
In the car category, the big name was Carlos Sainz. The two-time Dakar winner, who retired the previous day with a broken belt, made the most of his late starting position and drove to his first victory with Ford Racing. It is also the first stage win for Ford at the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF. Sainz finished in 3h32’14” and beat young Pole Eryk Goczał (Energylandia) by 30 seconds. Goczał was pleased with his second place, having conceded just 30 seconds to Sainz while leaving Al Attiyah more than three minutes behind. Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders) took third at 3 minutes 54 seconds, Sébastien Loeb fourth.
The overall car standings shifted dramatically once again. Al Attiyah quietly moved from third to second, sitting just 7 seconds behind new leader Seth Quintero. The Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC American took over the lead after two days in second position, displacing teammate Henk Lategan, who now sits third at 1 minute 53 seconds. Loeb climbed from fifth to fourth and is closing in on the top three. It promises to be a spectacular final day.
Rally2, Rally3 and other classes
In Rally2, Martim Ventura took his third stage win of the week. The Portuguese Monster Energy Honda HRC rider was error-free and extended his overall lead to 4 minutes 34 seconds over teammate Bruno Crivilin. Preston Campbell has been dealing with mechanical issues and sits third. Murun Purevdorj (Xraids Experience) remained unbeaten in Rally3 for the fourth stage in a row. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) took his third stage win of the week in the quad class, at over 3,200 metres altitude, and holds his lead in the standings.
At BAS World KTM, Toni Mulec suffered mechanical problems and Maxime Fliter finished following a crash, with the team wishing him a swift recovery. Stéphane Peterhansel (Defender) won the Stock class and strengthened his lead. Puck Klaassen (KTM X-Bow powered by G Rally) took her second win in the Challenger class and now sits just 12 seconds behind leader Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally). In the SSV category, Pedro Mac Dowell (South Racing Can-Am) took his first stage win of the week.
Tomorrow’s finale in San Juan
The fifth and final stage covers 552 kilometres in total, with a 320-kilometre special stage in a loop around San Juan. In the motorcycle, car and multiple other classes, the overall standings remain wide open.
