Daniel Sanders has continued his commanding run at the 2026 Desafío Ruta 40, mastering frozen dunes, high-altitude mountain tracks and a brutal 408km special to claim a third straight stage victory and stretch his RallyGP lead beyond 13 minutes in Argentina.
Stage 3 delivered one of the toughest tests of the rally so far, with riders leaving a bitterly cold San Rafael before tackling the famed Nihuil dunes, fast dry riverbeds and technical mountain sections climbing to 2,715 metres above sea level. Temperatures dropped below freezing early in the day, turning parts of the dunes icy and creating a unique challenge for even the most experienced rally-raid competitors.
Despite carrying the burden of opening the stage, Sanders once again proved untouchable, overcoming the difficult navigation demands to win by 57 seconds over Red Bull KTM teammate Luciano Benavides, with Tosha Schareina completing the podium a further 1m38s back.
The Australian admitted the freezing conditions created one of the more unusual days of his rally career but relished the challenge as he built further momentum heading into the final two stages.
“It was freezing this morning with the temperature at negative one degrees,” Sanders said. “I have never rode dunes with ice on them, but it made for good riding because they were hard.
“The dunes and terrain had lots of grass which made it difficult to ride and open the road book at the same time. The last part of the stage reached 2700 metres in altitude which affected the power of the bike. It gives us a taste of what is to come tomorrow when we hit more than 3000 metres altitude.”
The stage win marked Sanders’ third in succession at this year’s rally and helped extend his overall lead to 13m36s, putting the Australian firmly in control with just two stages remaining.
Luciano Benavides delivered another strong ride on home soil, backing up his second-place finish from Stage 2 with another runner-up result after pushing hard through the demanding terrain to remain third overall. The Argentinian now sits just over two minutes behind Schareina in the fight for second place overall.
“Stage 3 was really physical and demanding,” Benavides said. “The dunes were difficult with the freezing temperatures, but I felt comfortable and had a good rhythm. Finishing second again and keeping pressure on the front is positive.”
Tosha Schareina again emerged as Sanders’ closest challenger, attacking hard through the dunes and fast pistes to secure his third podium finish in as many stages. While unable to claw back meaningful time on the Australian, the Spaniard remains second overall and still firmly in the hunt for a strong finish to the rally.
“I can’t describe this stage, super fast and so cold,” Schareina said. “I’ve never been in white dunes that were frozen. For me it was good, I did my best and I gave everything on the piste. Today was really fast, at the beginning riding the famous dunes at high altitude felt like we didn’t have any power.”
Behind the leading trio, Skyler Howes bounced back from the tablet dramas that hampered his opening two days to enjoy one of his cleanest runs of the rally, bringing his Honda home in fourth after what he described as one of the most enjoyable stages of his rally career.
“Today just about had everything,” Howes said. “We started out on some really fast tracks, then got into these really awesome dunes which were actually frozen in some areas, so it was a bit tricky.
“After that we got into really fast tracks and it was freezing cold, so we were shivering while riding the bike and climbed up to 3000 metres. Everything they could throw at us they did today and it was really fun. Today is one of those days that makes me really love the job that I have.”
Ricky Brabec endured a tougher outing while battling illness throughout the day, compounded by a small crash in the dunes that triggered his airbag system. Despite the setbacks, the American dug deep to salvage fifth and remains fourth overall heading into the closing stages.
“I woke up feeling like dog crap today,” Brabec admitted. “Stage three was a long one, it was super cold today. It was good, it was fast, made a little mistake in the dunes and deployed my airbag, other than that it was good. Just two more days, just going to keep plugging away and do my best.”
Adrien Van Beveren rounded out the top six after another difficult day searching for confidence in changing conditions. The Frenchman started strongly but admitted he never fully gelled with the bike through the dunes and mountain terrain, with setup refinements now a focus for the closing stages.
“We went to the Nihuil dunes this morning and I was happy to go there, but I didn’t feel so comfortable on the bike today,” Van Beveren said. “We are trying some different specs on the bike and hopefully we will find a good balance and I can regroup and find my best level.”
Further back, Ross Branch continued a steady campaign for Hero Motorsports in eighth, while Bradley Cox and José Ignacio Cornejo completed the top 10 after another physically punishing day in the saddle.
“It was an amazing stage through some really incredible areas today, especially up in the mountains at high altitude,” Branch refeltce. “I felt really comfortable on the bike during the first part of the stage, and things were going well, but I had a small crash just after the refuel which cost me a bit of time and rhythm, and also a few smaller issues resulting from this. No excuses, though. I managed to settle back in afterwards and finish the stage strongly, so overall I’m happy to still be healthy heading into the final two stages, where we can keep working to make some improvements.”
With three consecutive stage wins now under his belt, Sanders heads into Stage 4 with a growing overall advantage and confidence high, although the Australian knows the rally is far from over as the route returns to San Juan for another demanding test featuring 324 kilometres against the clock.
“Everything is working out great, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” Sanders said. “Fully focused on the roadbook.”
At the halfway point of the rally, Rally2 continues to be dominated by the leading trio, although the order shifted dramatically on Stage 3 as Martim Ventura returned to the top. The Portuguese rider fought closely with Toni Mulec throughout the demanding 408km special before edging clear late to claim victory by 55 seconds, reclaiming the overall lead in the process. After struggling for feel in the icy dunes early, Ventura settled into the faster hard-pack terrain and managed to limit mistakes on one of the rally’s most physically demanding days.
“I have to be happy,” Ventura said. “The dunes in the morning were super hard for me; I didn’t quite get my feeling for them. In the hard pack, I got into a rhythm; however, I made some mistakes and wanted to get some time back there. I was quite calm and quick to recover from them.”
Behind him, Bruno Crivilin continued his remarkable start to rally raid competition, backing up his Stage 1 win with another podium in third. The Brazilian admitted the dunes were completely new territory but excelled once the stage transitioned into faster WRC-style tracks, finishing just under two minutes behind Ventura and moving to second overall, only 2m14s from the lead. Stage 2 winner Preston Campbell remained in the fight early before tablet issues and navigation troubles in the dunes cost valuable time, dropping the American to fourth on the stage and third overall, now 7m48s behind Ventura but still firmly in podium contention heading into the final two stages.
“It was a big stage today and really nice,” Crivilin said. “The second part was more WRC-style which for me is best, it was so fast at times. I’m feeling good, the bike is working well and so is the team.” Campbell added: “It started off in the dunes and was going OK, but I had some tablet problems halfway. I made it to the finish today, nothing too special, but just two more days to go.”
The penultimate stage of the 2026 Desafío Ruta 40 sees riders return to San Juan for another gruelling challenge. Although the rally is approaching its conclusion, the difficulty will not ease with a total of 634 km on the schedule, including 324 km against the clock, as the riders continue their fight for positions in the overall standings.
| Rally GP Result – Stage 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | No | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Daniel Sanders | 1 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 4:16:30 |
| 2 | Luciano Benavides | 77 | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +0:57 |
| 3 | Tosha Schareina | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +2:35 |
| 4 | Skyler Howes | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +5:45 |
| 5 | Ricky Brabec | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +6:37 |
| 6 | Adrien Van Beveren | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +8:04 |
| 7 | Edgar Canet | 73 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +12:43 |
| 8 | Ross Branch | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | +16:23 |
| 9 | Bradley Cox | 7 | RSA | Sherco Rally Factory | +18:53 |
| 10 | José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | +21:13 |
| 11 | Lorenzo Santolino | 15 | SPA | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | +25:44 |
| 12 | Romain Dumontier | 21 | FRA | Team Dumontier Racing | +35:15 |
| Provisional Rally GP Standings After Stage 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | No | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Daniel Sanders | 1 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 9:37:06 |
| 2 | Tosha Schareina | 68 | SPA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +13:36 |
| 3 | Luciano Benavides | 77 | ARG | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +15:57 |
| 4 | Ricky Brabec | 9 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +19:12 |
| 5 | Skyler Howes | 10 | USA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +21:29 |
| 6 | Adrien Van Beveren | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda HRC | +28:33 |
| 7 | Edgar Canet | 73 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | +31:21 |
| 8 | Ross Branch | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | +38:28 |
| 9 | Bradley Cox | 7 | RSA | Sherco Rally Factory | +51:52 |
| 10 | José Ignacio Cornejo Florimo | 11 | CHI | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | +55:41 |
| 11 | Lorenzo Santolino | 15 | SPA | Sherco TVS Rally Factory | +1:06:34 |
| 12 | Romain Dumontier | 21 | FRA | Team Dumontier Racing | +01:10:20 |
| Rally 2 Result – Stage 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | No | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Martim Ventura | 84 | POR | Honda HRC | 04:33:26 |
| 2 | Toni Mulec | 16 | SLO | BAS World KTM Racing Team | +00:55 |
| 3 | Bruno Crivillin | 69 | BRA | Honda HRC | +01:56 |
| 4 | Preston Campbell | 85 | USA | Honda HRC | +10:05 |
| 5 | Alfredo Pellicer | 50 | SPA | Xraids Experience | +13:46 |
| 6 | Benjamín Herrera Ried | 8 | CHI | Xraids Experience | +22:25 |
| 7 | Jeremías Pascual | 58 | ARG | Kove Argentina | +25:18 |
| 8 | Diego Martin Duplessis | 80 | ARG | Fantic By Med Racing Team | +25:47 |
| 9 | Marti Escofet | 49 | SPA | Joyride Race Service | +39:25 |
| 10 | Juan Santiago Rostan | 49 | ARG | Xraids Experience | +44:19 |
| Provisional Rally 2 Standings After Stage 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | No | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Martim Ventura | 84 | POR | Honda HRC | 10:21:47 |
| 2 | Bruno Crivillin | 69 | BRA | Honda HRC | +02:14 |
| 3 | Preston Campbell | 85 | USA | Honda HRC | +07:48 |
| 4 | Toni Mulec | 16 | SLO | BAS World KTM Racing Team | +08:38 |
| 5 | Alfredo Pellicer | 50 | SPA | Xraids Experience | +20:56 |
| 6 | Benjamín Herrera Ried | 8 | CHI | Xraids Experience | +45:06 |
| 7 | Jeremías Pascual | 58 | ARG | Kove Argentina | +52:23 |
| 8 | Diego Martin Duplessis | 80 | ARG | Fantic By Med Racing Team | +01:09:30 |
| 9 | Marti Escofet | 49 | SPA | Joyride Race Service | +01:25:31 |
| 10 | Tomás De Gavardo | 20 | CHI | De Gavardo Team | +01:43:47 |
