The 11th stage of the Dakar Rally came to an end, with Ross Branch winning again in this year’s competition.
The Hero Motorsports pilot needed 4h51m57s to secure the victory in the 420-kilometer stage, but saw his main rival in the fight for the Dakar title finish in second place, just 32 seconds behind. With this, Ricky Brabec already has one and a half hands on the title, as there is only one more stage left to compete.
Adrien Van Beveren managed to finish the day 3m17s after Branch, while Luciano Benavides was fourth and the best Husqvarna of the day. As for Toby Price, he was the fastest on a KTM, finishing fifth.
Looking at the overall classification, Branch only took 32 seconds off Brabec’s lead, which makes the difference between the two now 10m22s. Van Beveren is third, 14m31s behind his teammate.
Top ten on today’s Dakar stage:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 04H 51′ 57” | |||
| 2 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 52′ 29” | + 00H 00′ 32” | ||
| 3 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 55′ 14” | + 00H 03′ 17” | ||
| 4 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 04H 56′ 35” | + 00H 04′ 38” | ||
| 5 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04H 58′ 28” | + 00H 06′ 31” | ||
| 6 | 18 | (ZAF) BRADLEY COX | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | 05H 00′ 02” | + 00H 08′ 05” | ||
| 7 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 05H 01′ 05” | + 00H 09′ 08” | ||
| 8 | 5 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING | 05H 04′ 20” | + 00H 12′ 23” | ||
| 9 | 23 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | ORION – MOTO RACING GROUP | 05H 06′ 24” | + 00H 14′ 27” | ||
| 10 | 142 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 05H 07′ 44” | + 00H 15′ 47” |
Overall classification:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 49H 37′ 57” | 00H 01′ 00” | ||
| 2 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 49H 48′ 19” | + 00H 10′ 22” | 00H 01′ 00” | |
| 3 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 49H 52′ 28” | + 00H 14′ 31” | ||
| 4 | 11 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 50H 16′ 41” | + 00H 38′ 44” | 00H 06′ 00” | |
| 5 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 50H 19′ 16” | + 00H 41′ 19” | 00H 03′ 00” | |
| 6 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 50H 25′ 56” | + 00H 47′ 59” | ||
| 7 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 50H 33′ 45” | + 00H 55′ 48” | 00H 15′ 00” | |
| 8 | 5 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING | 50H 50′ 22” | + 01H 12′ 25” | ||
| 9 | 142 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 51H 32′ 15” | + 01H 54′ 18” | ||
| 10 | 23 | (CZE) MARTIN MICHEK | ORION – MOTO RACING GROUP | 52H 21′ 37” | + 02H 43′ 40” | 00H 01′ 00” |
