There is the confirmation: Ricky Brabec is the winner of the Dakar 2024! The Honda rider started with a comfortable advantage for the last stage of the competition, the 12th, and all he had to do was practically “just” finish the day, thus confirming his second victory in the Dakar Rally, returning to the top of the podium after achieving it before in 2020.
And almost like a passing of the torch Kevin Benavides (KTM), winner in 2023, won today on the last day of competition, with 328km and 175 of Special, in 1h48m40s.
Toby Price (KTM) was the second fastest and took exactly one more minute to finish his participation this year in the competition, with Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) being third.
Honda, which was clearly the best-performing manufacturer, had Adrien Van Beveren as its best rider, in fourth, with Diego Gamaliel Llanos (Xraids Experience) closing out the top five.
Ricky Brabec, the man of the moment, finished the stage with a 3m31s delay compared to Benavides, but controlled the events and secured his second victory in the Dakar rally, he who in 2020 had already made history as the first American to become champion in the competition.
In the final standings, the highlight is naturally the winner, who closed the competition with a 10m53s lead over Ross Branch (Hero), with Van Beveren in third, 12m25s behind. Kevin Benavides was the first outside the podium positions, in fourth, while Toby Price was fifth.
Top ten of Stage 12:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 01H 48′ 40” | |||
| 2 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 01H 49′ 40” | + 00H 01′ 00” | ||
| 3 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 01H 49′ 54” | + 00H 01′ 14” | 00H 01′ 00” | |
| 4 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 01H 50′ 05” | + 00H 01′ 25” | ||
| 5 | 41 | (ARG) DIEGO GAMALIEL LLANOS | XRAIDS EXPERIENCE | 01H 51′ 54” | + 00H 03′ 14” | ||
| 6 | 16 | (FRA) ROMAIN DUMONTIER | TEAM DUMONTIER RACING | 01H 52′ 03” | + 00H 03′ 23” | ||
| 7 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 01H 52′ 11” | + 00H 03′ 31” | ||
| 8 | 28 | (FRA) MATHIEU DOVEZE | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | 01H 52′ 16” | + 00H 03′ 36” | ||
| 9 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 01H 52′ 42” | + 00H 04′ 02” | ||
| 10 | 18 | (ZAF) BRADLEY COX | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | 01H 52′ 59” | + 00H 04′ 19” |
Top ten final:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 51H 30′ 08” | 00H 01′ 00” | ||
| 2 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 51H 41′ 01” | + 00H 10′ 53” | 00H 01′ 00” | |
| 3 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 51H 42′ 33” | + 00H 12′ 25” | ||
| 4 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 52H 08′ 56” | + 00H 38′ 48” | 00H 04′ 00” | |
| 5 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 52H 15′ 36” | + 00H 45′ 28” | ||
| 6 | 11 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 52H 16′ 46” | + 00H 46′ 38” | 00H 06′ 00” | |
| 7 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 52H 23′ 39” | + 00H 53′ 31” | 00H 16′ 00” | |
| 8 | 5 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING | 52H 44′ 40” | + 01H 14′ 32” | ||
| 9 | 142 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 53H 26′ 36” | + 01H 56′ 28” | ||
| 10 | 23 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | ORION – MOTO RACING GROUP | 54H 18′ 57” | + 02H 48′ 49” | 00H 01′ 00” |
