While teammate Ricky Brabec‘s fortnight-long game of cat and mouse played out perfectly, Skyler Howes 10 went from the high of winning Stage 11 of the Dakar Rally to limping home just ahead of battered defending champ Daniel Sanders! Howes had a difficult day opening the stage and just 100 kilometres in, an oil leak spread over his boots and rear brake, forcing him to nurse his Honda CRF450 RALLY to the finish.
“Oh boy, this is the second time this rally where I thought I was done. A freak mechanical issue put me on high alert and survival mode for the whole day,” explained Howes. “By some miracle I was able to finish. I lost a lot of time but was able to move into 4th overall.
“Opening the special, I did more or less an OK job until the 100 km mark, Adrien Van Beveren took over and I just tried my best to not build any engine heat. I’m very happy to have moved up to 4th overall now, just by 10 seconds, but today was a miracle of a day to get into the finish and I’m happy about that. We’ll see how this last 100 kms goes tomorrow.”
Howes ended the day 10th, 24 minutes down, but moved up to fourth overall – just 10 seconds ahead of Sanders. Everything now hinges on the final stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally. Back in Yanbu, last seen on Stage 2, just 105 km of racing remain as the world’s toughest rally is set for a dramatic conclusion.
See the video recap from the penultimate Stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally here:
