After the rest day, stage seven returned the riders to the heart of the Dakar action with a demanding 877 km route starting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city.A 278 km liaison set the field on its way before a gruelling 459 km special stage, followed by a further 140 km run to the finish at Wadi ad-Dawasir in the south of the country.

Navigation proved crucial throughout the day, with fast valley tracks designed to lure riders off course.Dunes, narrow passages and rocky terrain further added to the challenge, making for a long and physically demanding day on the bikes.

Skyler Howes also endured an eventful opening week, particularly during the marathon stage where tyre management and feeling under the weather tested his resilience.After recovering on the rest day, the American returned to full fitness and delivered another consistent performance to finish fifth on the stage.That result moves him up to fifth overall, 33’34” from the lead.

With just 45 seconds separating him from the top spot overall, stage six winner Ricky Brabec faced the unenviable task of opening the stage.It quickly became a tough assignment, as Schareina and then Sanders caught him, both chipping away at the available bonus time.

Brabec secured 5’36” in bonuses, but it wasn’t enough and he finished ninth, 9’15” down on stage winner Luciano Benavides.The two-time Dakar champion remained unfazed, knowing that a deeper start position tomorrow could work in his favour as he looks to reduce the overall deficit of 4’25”.

After an impressive opening week, Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally2 rider Preston Campbell used the rest day to recharge before returning to action aboard their Honda CRF450RX RALLY machine for stage seven.

Campbell headed into the weekend as the overall Rally2 leader, an outstanding achievement for a Dakar rookie.His objective for the second week is clear: defend the top spot all the way to the rally’s return to Yanbu on 17th January.

Starting from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, stage seven was fast and demanding, sending riders across striking dunes, rocky tracks and off-piste sections.The 459 km special stage eventually led the field to Wadi ad-Dawasir, a city nestled in the Dawasir Valley.

Drawing on his experience in the California desert, Campbell once again adapted well to the varied terrain and clearly enjoyed the stage. He briefly rode through the dunes alongside teammate Ventura after the Portuguese rider caught him on the course and he went on to finish fifth, 10’25” behind stage winner Michael Docherty.While his overall lead has been reduced to 11 minutes, he remains firmly in control and will aim to stay within striking distance of the stage podium each day to protect his position.

Preston Campbell: The day was super fast, a lot of big valleys and fast pistes across the desert, so it was super fun. We got a little bit of dunes and overall it was a fast pace. Martim caught me and we got to ride together a little on the sand dunes, which was super fun.

Ricky Brabec: It was not so tricky of a day but we did lose a little bit of time. No stress on my end, I mean tomorrow we’re in a really good position to claw back some time. For now, we’re doing all we can, we’re riding, having fun, we’re navigating, but hopefully tomorrow we can do a good job and make a good push and then we have the marathon camp, which takes its toll on tyres and things like that. Tomorrow’s looking good for us, we’re in a good position to have a solid day on what I think is one of the biggest stages of the rally, so for me it’s better to start at the back.

Skyler Howes: It was a full gas day, we were on the throttle stopper pretty much the majority of the stage. I had a couple of bits of tricky navigation, one of which I did a super strange thing, turned around to get a waypoint I’d already got. I had to get the juices going after rest day, as I definitely needed it.