Ricky Brabec was second in the ninth stage of the Dakar 2024, held this Tuesday. The Monster Energy Honda rider took a giant step towards adding another title, managing to stay 7m09s ahead of the second-place overall finisher – Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports).
The American told the event’s official website: ‘Today was possibly one of my only chances to launch a major attack and try to build a margin a little larger than 40 or 50 seconds. Today we gave it our all and it was good. I lost my rear brakes just before refueling, so it was another stage without rear brakes and it was a bit complicated, but overall it was good. I think tomorrow we will probably have to open the way, but if I can stay clean tomorrow, I think we will be free, but the rally is not over yet. There are still a few more days to go‘.
The lead advantage has grown, but Brabec admitted he is far from being calm: ‘In 2020 it was definitely strong, but I built the margin early and now this has definitely been the most stressful race of my life because it’s very close and it’s the Dakar. Anyway, with a few more days to go, we will keep our hopes high and continue to attack‘.
