Dakar 2024 is almost here and Luciano Benavides is the official Husqvarna rider. After becoming the Rally-Raid world champion and achieving his best result by finishing sixth in 2023 – with his first stage wins – he now naturally dreams of overall victory.
The Argentine, who will start with the #1, recalled how he got into rallying: ‘I was 14 years old when I realized I wanted to be a Dakar driver. I remember watching the Dakar in Salta, seeing all the top drivers competing so close to my home was a crazy experience. At that time, I was still riding enduro and I remember saying that one day I wanted to compete in rallies – and now I’m here!‘.
About Dakar in particular, Benavides described the experience of the legendary race: ‘Dakar is such a good adventure for 15 days, where you have to be fully prepared for everything – happy, sad, tired, hungry. Some days you just don’t want to compete again and your emotions are up and down. But when you feel on top, that’s what makes you want to come back. You go through so much and feel so much in just one Dakar that you would need ten years to fit it all in another way. It’s a race that makes you a better person both physically and mentally‘.
The 2024 edition of Dakar is approaching, to which the South American arrives full of confidence, as he highlighted: ‘The last Dakar gave me a lot of confidence and motivation to know that I have what it takes to win. Winning the sixth stage was something that changed my mindset and perspective on races and confirmed to me that being a Dakar champion is my dream. I wake up every day and think about it! Riding for Husqvarna is very important to me, it’s a brand that I love, from the team to the bike. I will do my best to achieve my dream and make it come true since it’s something I have prepared for all my life‘.
