Daniel Sanders has been left bemoaning "silly mistakes" which have allowed his two main Honda rivals race past him and relegate the champion into third place in the Dakar Rally.
Australian leader Sanders saw his advantage evaporate after the first part of a long and difficult 417km fourth 'marathon' stage over two days, in which he could only finish fifth behind a Monster Energy Honda Team 1-2-3, headed by a second consecutive stage win for Spain's Tosha Schareina.
Benefiting from the time bonuses he received by opening the rocky route on Wednesday, and then riding together with his teammate Ricky Brabec for the last 200km, Schareina won the stage by just six seconds from his American pal after a four-and-a-half hour slog. Skyler Howes completed the Honda domination in third.
