Dakar Rally reaches the midway point and Monster Energy’s Brabec (RallyGP) & Campbell (Rally2) are in title contention

With the motorcycle world’s eyes focused in on a small portion of desert in the Middle East, a couple of American racers with the powerful Monster Energy-backed Honda HRC Rally program have stood out amongst their peers as the famed Dakar Rally passes its midway point today just outside Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.

One of the more intriguing stories coming out of Dakar’s opening week of competition is that of Californian Preston Campbell. The 26-year-old racer finds himself leading, by more than 11 minutes, in his first-ever Dakar Rally. Improbable? On paper, yes. But when you consider the longtime Honda racer’s pedigree, his father being one of America’s all-time great off-roaders, Johnny Campbell, then the picture becomes clear on how and why Campbell’s leading a field in which the second place racer (KTM’s Toni Mulec) is 15 years the young American’s senior.

“The stage was good. A good mix of some fast and rocky areas,” said the wide-eyed Californian of Dakar’s opening stage, surrounded by media, and taking it all in with his dad, Honda consultant and American off-road great Johnny Campbell, at his side. “A good first stage to finish at Dakar after a long two weeks and I’m looking forward to the rest of the race.”

Campbell would certainly catch a break, as is the case with most Dakar leaders, when prerace favorite Michael Docherty (KTM) broke a rim and, timewise, basically eliminated himself from the Dakar Rally2 championships. Campbell, who placed 7^th on Stage 1, was in a position to make a run at the overall lead – and did so by reeling off four-straight Rally2 stage podium finishes (and two more top five stage finishes).

In the premier RallyGP class, two-time American Dakar champion Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally) has been his usual, consistent self through seven stages of racing. Brabec, who won the Dakar in 2020, becoming the first American to do so, and again in ’24, was less than a minute (:45) back of defending Dakar champ and current leader Daniel Sanders (KTM) before dropping back some four minutes (4:25) following Stage 7. Unfazed, Brabec looks to Stages 8 & 9 here in the next two days to make up that time and, hopefully, come away with the overall lead as Dakar approaches the back stretch of the 13-day event.

“It was so tricky of a day, and we did lose a little bit of time, but no stress on my end,” said Brabec. “Tomorrow we’re in a really good position to claw back some time. And I feel like, with tomorrow (Stage 9) and Stage 10, that gives me two more days to make a push.”

According to Brabec, there’s a bit of ‘cat-and-mouse’ being played at the point in the rally. Brabec will start Monday’s Stage 8 in the 10^th position, and will have the advantage of being able to put the hammer down in an effort to catch up to Sanders – who starts 21 minutes out front of Brabec. This advantage (with Sanders leading and starting earlier out of the gate) carries over to Tuesday’s Stage 10 as well.According to Brabec, there’s a bit of ‘cat-and-mouse’ being played at the point in the rally. Brabec will start Monday’s Stage 8 in the 10^th position, and will have the advantage of being able to put the hammer down in an effort to catch up to Sanders – who starts 21 minutes out front of Brabec. This advantage (with Sanders leading and starting earlier out of the gate) carries over to Tuesday’s Stage 10 as well.According to Brabec, there’s a bit of ‘cat-and-mouse’ being played at the point in the rally. Brabec will start Monday’s Stage 8 in the 10th position, and will have the advantage of being able to put the hammer down in an effort to catch up to Sanders – who starts 21 minutes out front of Brabec. This advantage (with Sanders leading and starting earlier out of the gate) carries over to Tuesday’s Stage 10 as well.

“Hopefully we can do something with it,” he added. “For now, we’re doing all we can. Riding, having fun, navigating. Tomorrow’s one of the biggest stages of the rally. For me it’s better to start in the back, so hopefully we can have a big push.”

Also noteworthy… Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Tosha Schareina has shown the speed he’s known for, and currently ranks 4^th in the overall standings – 15:06 back of Sanders. Schareina would be closer to the overall podium, and about five minutes out of the lead, had it not been for a starting error (starting outside the official race flags) on Stage 5, to which Schareina was penalized a whopping 10 minutes. … Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Adrien Van Beveren would lock down his first stage podium finish of the 2026 Dakar Rally, placing and event-best 3^rd on Sunday’s Stage 7 with a time of 04:05:53. The French rally veteran had experienced his fair share of bad luck through the Prologue and seven stages thus far, including having a piece of wire that got wrapped up in his wheel, costing him valuable time. Van Beveren’s in 7^th position overall through seven stages, about an hour back of the lead bikes of Sanders, Brabec and Benevides. … American Skyler Howes keeps plugging away and is currently in 5^th position, 33:14 back of the lead. Howes has been racing very consistently following a Stage 1 crash that set him back just a bit. Howes has four Top 5 stage finishes through the first seven stages. … Over on the Hero Motosports, powered by Monster Energy team, Jose “Nacho” Cornejo has worked his way up into the top six (6^th) overall, one position back of Howes in the overall standings. And 2024 overall World Rally-Raid Championship RallyGP class champion, Ross Branch, has struggled a bit and finds himself just inside the top ten (8^th) overall through seven stages. … Closing out Rally2, Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally’s Martim Ventura checks in in 7^th place overall, 1:40:40 back of leader Campbell.

Stage 8 overview: Back to Wadi Ad-Dawasir for the first time since ’22, the longest stage of the ’26 Dakar Rally (approaching 500 km of timed Special stage) features a myriad of obstacles set to test the versatility of the world’s premier off-road motorcycle racers. From plateaus to canyon crossings and a wide array of vegetation, sudden changes in direction from race planners will test – and sometimes trick – even some of the best navigation specialists.

2026 Dakar Rally Standings (through 7 of 13 stages)

Place/Name/Team

RallyGP

2^nd – Brabec (+ 04:25)

4^th – Schareina (+ 15:06)

5^th – Howes (+ 33:14)

6^th – Cornejo (+ 33:25)

7^th – Van Beveren (+ 55:57)

8^th – Branch (+ 01:39:22)

Rally2

1^st – Campbell (30:31:03)