For the Spanish delegation in the Dakar Rally, the second largest in the event, not everything is lost after the debacle in cars, where Nani Roma and Cris Gutiérrez have been left without options and two icons such as Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz have abandoned. Lorenzo Santolino (Salamanca, 37 years old), pilot of the French factory Sherco, took his first stage victory in the race and underlined the hopes placed in the motorcycle category. The man from Salamanca won the third special of the 2025 edition of the rally with a time of 3h44m34s, reduced to 327 kilometers against the clock due to the storms in the Al Henakiyah region, ahead of the main names in the general classification.
“Come on! Finally a stage victory. It has been incredible to have taken this victory in a very technical stage, with many stones. I have tried to attack a lot and, although I have taken some risks, it has been worth it,” shared the winner, excited after crossing the finish line. “I dedicate this triumph to my family, who puts up with me every day, and to my mother, who has guided me a little at some crossroads,” he concluded, pointing towards the sky. From a humble family, Santolino grew up in the world of two wheels thanks to motocross, where he stood out nationally. When he wanted to make the jump to international competitions, he found shelter in the enduro team, a discipline in which he was proclaimed junior world champion and up to five times champion of Spain.
In 2019, Sherco tempted him to make the jump to rallies and he made his debut in the Dakar with two consecutive abandonments. In 2021, a very difficult year due to the death of his mother, he achieved his best result so far with a creditable sixth place overall. With number 15 as his fixed number in honor of his mother, Santolino has been trying to get into the top five overall for several seasons. “My goal is still to get that Top 5, it’s a thorn that I want to get rid of now. I have been able to achieve it in the past, and although it is not easy, I think it is a realistic goal,” the Pont Grup pilot told Morning Express before leaving for Saudi Arabia. Right now, the man from Salamanca is eleventh overall, more than 40 minutes behind the leader.
The day after losing Sainz due to the consequences of his rollover in the 48 hours stage and adding to the disastrous day the farewell of Nani Roma and Cristina Gutiérrez due to mechanical problems, Santolino’s victory helped focus the focus on the two wheels, discipline where the Valencian Tosha Schareina, an official Honda rider at 29 years old, is precisely in the fifth place desired by his colleague in the general classification. The Touareg’s best national asset is carrying out an intelligent rally without fanfare. On this occasion, he used the combination of fast roads and slightly more technical areas in the final stretch to shave four minutes off the leader Daniel Sanders (KTM) and be eight minutes behind in the overall standings, an anecdotal difference at this point in the film. .
Schareina, with a German father and Valencian mother, was inspired by her uncle Mariano, an off-road fan, to start racing motorcycles. After high school and a career with ups and downs in the world of enduro, he abandoned his studies and dedicated himself to traveling half of Spain from circuit to circuit, practically living in the van where he carried the motorcycle and his belongings. At 25 years old, the driver earned a direct invitation to the Dakar after winning the Andalusia rally in 2020. His debut on the big stage impressed, as he was 13th at the finish line and second best rookie in the 2021 edition. Paperwork problems They left him out of the 2022 edition, and in 2023 he returned to the fray and repeated his result among the best despite having an inferior motorcycle. Honda then noticed his talent and decided to give him a chance: in his first race with the brand’s best equipment he was second and then won two other World Cup events to convince the leaders.
In 2024, Schareina started the Dakar with a victory in the prologue stage, but the desire for victory played tricks on him and in the first stage he had to retire due to a fall. Broken doll for home, quite a lesson she has learned from. “When you try to control more than necessary, that’s when you fall. That’s why I approach all races the same way, going stage by stage,” he told this newspaper before the race. “We are coming very strong, we are in a good team and with a powerful new bike. We have everything to do it well and fulfill the dream of all of us who are here. We left home thinking about winning,” he added.
Also on motorcycles, the Catalan Edgar Canet, the youngest participant in the Dakar in 2025, continues to take giant steps in his debut in the toughest rally on the planet. At 19 years old, he is twelfth overall just behind the winner of the day and continues to lead the table in Rally2, the second division of the category and a must for every novice on two wheels.
