Throughout history, few have achieved more than one title in the Dakar, and now Ricky Brabec has joined that restricted group of riders in the 2024 edition. The seventh time in the 12th and final stage was enough to secure the victory with a 10m53s lead over Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports).
Emotional, the American from Monster Energy Honda told the official Dakar website: ‘It’s a good way to start the year, with a victory. It wasn’t easy. The course was really tough, the competition was tough. Ross and my own team kept me on my toes – not just me, I think we all kept each other on our toes. It was definitely a fight to the end. I’m really happy that we’re all here and safe and we can go home. Overall, it was a good rally’.
Asked to compare with the 2020 victory, Brabec commented: ‘It’s a bit different. I feel like this one was more earned, this time it was much tougher. In 2020 we had a big lead from the start. Here, I think Ross and I spent three days with a difference of a few seconds. It was a close race for all of us. I believe there’s about 11 minutes between first and third, whatever Adrien [van Beveren] got, but it was a close race and ten minutes is not a big distance here in rallies. It was close’.
Finally, the pilot said: ‘I had two good days, two opportunities to make a good attack, but the 11th stage was a scare factor for me because I knew Ross started 18 minutes behind me and if he caught me, it would be over. The 11th stage was tough for me, but I stayed focused, reached the end, and didn’t lose too much time, so I’m really happy with this and I’m really happy for the team. I’m happy for all of us, we did an excellent job in both weeks. I think the #9 will be my lucky number from now on‘.
