There are only four stages left to complete this 46th Dakar race and the motorcycle category remains extremely hot with a difference of just 42 seconds between the two races. leader Ricky Brabec (Honda) and his direct rival Botswana Ross Branch (Hero). Today, on the eighth stage between Ad Dawadimi and Haíl, with a route of almost 700 kilometers and 279 special timings, the partial victory of the Argentines was achieved as the fight between the two main favorites continued. Kevin Benavides (KTM), current champion, ahead of his brother Luciano (Husqvarna).
Brabec could have had more going for him on the stage, where he performed very hard from the start and managed to lead for kilometers, forcing Branch to make a ‘frantic’ effort to keep up with his pace and preserve his chances: the Touareg.
As the stage progressed, with plenty of rocks in the final sections, Brabec slowed down and was passed by the Benavides brothers and also teammate Adrien Van Beveren, who appeared to be heading for victory. The Frenchman on the Honda put aside his advantage of more than two minutes at the final checkpoint and crossed the finish line in third place.
Kevin Benavides (KTM), who was 20 minutes behind the overall leader, achieved his second stage victory in Dakar. Brabec, on the other hand, spent more than four minutes with the Argentinian, and at one point during the day he caught him for 3 minutes, thus minimizing his income from Branch.
Still, Brabec becomes first American rider to win Dakar on motorcycle (2020)He can make good use of the day after overcoming the difficult task of opening a track in the special stage, whose length has been reduced from 458 km to 279 km for security reasons.
Now Honda’s leader has Branch at 42 seconds and has an advantage of more than four minutes over his third teammate Nacho Cornejo (4:23). With the third Honda in the race, Van Beveren was 11 minutes behind, while Kevin Benavides closed out the provisional top five in 20:31.