The motorcycle general continues:
Ricky Brabec, riding for Honda, delivered a standout performance at Dakar. He claimed the stage victory and widened his lead in the general classification over his chief rival, Ross Branch of Hero. Yet the day carried risk and a hint of drama. In the closing moments Brabec eased his pace to keep the track tight, hoping not to give away an advantage in the crucial countdown to the penultimate stage. The plan didn’t unfold exactly as hoped: his teammates Cornejo and Van Beveren crossed the line in second and twenty seconds behind Brabec respectively, leaving the team with a celebratory, but unsettled, momentum as they headed into the final navigational challenge of this edition.
Honda demonstrated its depth and cohesion, producing a podium-worthy showing in the tenth stage. Three Honda-mounted riders finished with strong possibilities as the rally neared its finish. Adrien Van Beveren, finishing third, was just over eleven minutes behind Brabec in the overall standings. He mounted an aggressive charge, opening the trail and setting the pace for the leader who started the stage in second position. The strategy paid dividends for the team as a whole, showcasing its collective grit and tactical nous in tough desert conditions.
Branch, who began fifth, rode the first half of the stage with notable speed and held the title of fastest rider up to the 180-kilometer mark. Brabec then caught up with Van Beveren and asserted control, guiding the field for the remainder of the stage. As the duo pushed ahead, Brabec managed to slip away from Branch by a margin of roughly 3 minutes and 45 seconds. The day’s twist remained the potential for Nacho Cornejo to deliver a late-stage win for Honda, with a gap of only two seconds separating him from the Chilean pace-setter.
With this result Brabec carried a 10 minute, 58 second cushion into the decisive eleventh stage, a 480-kilometer timed special running from Al Ula to Yanbu. The margin was substantial enough to spark thoughts of a victory in the Touareg, a goal Brabec had last achieved four years earlier. The stage standings, and the overall balance of power, underscored Honda’s sustained competitiveness and strategic depth as the rally moved toward its climax. Source: Dakar Rally results.
The motorcycle general continues:
1. RICKY BRABEC (HONDA) 44H 45′ 28″
2. ROSS BRANCH (HERO) 10′ 54″
3. ADRIEN VAN BEVEREN (HONDA), 11′ 46″
4. JOSE IGNACIO CORNEJO (HONDA), 13′ 48″
5. KEVIN BENAVIDES (KTM), 32′ 43″
6. TOBY PRICE (KTM) 42′ 00″
7. LUCIANO BENAVIDES (HUSQVARNA) 51′ 42″
8. PABLO QUINTANILLA (HONDA TEAM) 5H 02′ 41″
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