The Dakar is getting closer to its end and today it was another pilot’s turn to repeat a stage victory, Adrien Van Beveren – albeit temporarily. The Frenchman finished Stage 9 with the best time, moving up to third place in the overall classification.
Beveren (Monster Energy Honda Team) took 4h36m36s to complete the stage with 639 km, with 417 km as a Special, thus finishing with a 42s advantage over Ricky Brabec, while Pablo Quintanilla took the last available place on the podium, with a delay of 4m29s from the winner, thus closing a podium completely composed of Honda riders.
The fourth to finish the connection from Hail to Alula was Ricky Brabec (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), followed by Ross Branch (Hero Motorsports Team Rally). Last year’s Dakar winner, Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and yesterday’s stage winner was sixth, ahead of Nacho Cornejo (Monster Energy Honda Team) and Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna).
Stefan Svitko (Slovnaft Rally Team) and Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing Team) rounded out the top ten.
Ricky Brabec maintains the lead in the competition and gained time on Ross Branch, while Van Beveren moved up to third place.
Top ten Stage 9:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 36′ 36” | |||
| 2 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 37′ 18” | + 00H 00′ 42” | ||
| 3 | 7 | (CHL) PABLO QUINTANILLA | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 41′ 05” | + 00H 04′ 29” | ||
| 4 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04H 43′ 20” | + 00H 06′ 44” | ||
| 5 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 04H 43′ 45” | + 00H 07′ 09” | ||
| 6 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 04H 44′ 49” | + 00H 08′ 13” | ||
| 7 | 11 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 04H 46′ 43” | + 00H 10′ 07” | ||
| 8 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 04H 46′ 52” | + 00H 10′ 16” | ||
| 9 | 142 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 04H 49′ 14” | + 00H 12′ 38” | ||
| 10 | 18 | (ZAF) BRADLEY COX | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | 04H 49′ 40” | + 00H 13′ 04” |
Top ten General Classification:
| POS. | N° | EXP. | DRIVE-TEAM | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION | PENALITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | (USA) RICKY BRABEC | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 40H 53′ 49” | 00H 01′ 00” | ||
| 2 | 46 | (BWA) ROSS BRANCH | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | 41H 00′ 58” | + 00H 07′ 09” | 00H 01′ 00” | |
| 3 | 42 | (FRA) ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 41H 05′ 05” | + 00H 11′ 16” | ||
| 4 | 11 | (CHL) JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO FLORIMO | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM | 41H 07′ 35” | + 00H 13′ 46” | 00H 06′ 00” | |
| 5 | 47 | (ARG) KEVIN BENAVIDES | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 41H 21′ 51” | + 00H 28′ 02” | 00H 03′ 00” | |
| 6 | 2 | (AUS) TOBY PRICE | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | 41H 29′ 01” | + 00H 35′ 12” | ||
| 7 | 1 | (ARG) LUCIANO BENAVIDES | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | 41H 42′ 58” | + 00H 49′ 09” | 00H 15′ 00” | |
| 8 | 5 | (AUS) DANIEL SANDERS | RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING | 41H 53′ 36” | + 00H 59′ 47” | ||
| 9 | 142 | (SVK) STEFAN SVITKO | SLOVNAFT RALLY TEAM | 42H 17′ 38” | + 01H 23′ 49” | ||
| 10 | 76 | (FRA) JEANLOUP LEPAN | DUUST RALLY TEAM | 43H 29′ 18” | + 02H 35′ 29” | 00H 15′ 00” |
