Honda 1-2-3 on Stage Ten | Brabec extends outright lead further

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage 10
Al Ula > Al Ula

Ricky Brabec put in a blistering performance to take his first stage victory of the 2024 Dakar on Wednesday during Stage Ten, extending his overall lead in a hard fought stage, that saw the top-ten separated by just seven-minutes.

He wasn’t the only rider impressing however, with the stage podium once again a Honda 1-2-3 including Cornejo and Van Beveren, with Australia’s Daniel Sanders narrowly missing out on a podium position.

With just three days of rallying remaining there was going to be no let up on stage ten with more challenges ahead. The day held a total riding distance of 609 km with a 371 km special that would include fast sandy plateaus, some off-piste sections which would really test their navigation skills and just to throw in some extra confusion, there would still be tracks on the route from stage one and the prologue which could really disorientate them.

After taking the top three spots yesterday it meant that Adrien Van Beveren would be handed the not-so-easy task of opening stage ten followed by Ricky Brabec and Pablo Quintanilla. In what has proven to be a burden to not have any tracks to follow because so much time can be lost, Van Beveren and Brabec shared the duties after 100 km to collect the time bonuses on offer.

Brabec was completely unfazed by riding at the front as the laid-back American acquired over two-minutes in bonuses and now has a cushion of nearly eleven minutes in the overall standings to Ross Branch.

Ricky Brabec – P1

“The day was good although the navigation wasn’t easy. In the first 50 km I was riding into the sun so that was difficult and then once I’d caught Adrien we rode together the whole way. We made some little mistakes here and there, but we came out in a good position for tomorrow and the last day. With two days left we have a little bit of a lead so let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Team-mate José Ignacio Cornejo has put in some great, consistent performances over the past 12 days and today was no exception. It was all about the number two for the Chilean as despite some small navigational errors he ended the stage in second, an astonishing two seconds behind Brabec and is now two minutes and two seconds behind Van Beveren for that final podium position.

José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo – P2

“It was a tough stage as I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I just tried to push as much as I could without making any navigation mistakes, I made a couple of small ones but nothing major. The fight for the podium is tight so I’ll keep doing my best until the very end.”

Van Beveren found some of the navigation quite complex which caused him to get lost near the end of the stage. Regardless, he soldiered on to finish in third just 20 seconds behind Brabec as he also accrued a healthy four and a half minutes in bonuses which has seen him cut the deficit overall to second-placed Branch. It’s ‘game on’ for the Frenchman who has excelled in this second week of rallying.

Adrien Van Beveren – P3

“I was expecting another fluid and fast stage but it was far from that. The navigation was tricky and difficult and I really tried to manage it and not get lost. At any rate, coming in first with Ricky after leading the way for so long is yet another solid performance. It’s starting to take a toll physically, and this could tip the scales, but we’ll see how it goes, there are still two days left and we need to stay focused.”

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Following a relatively steady start to stage 10, Sanders regrouped while refuelling and certainly came out swinging after that. Navigating perfectly through the remaining kilometres on the looping stage, Chucky made up some serious time to complete the special in fourth. And it was definitely tight at the top as after almost four hours of racing, Daniel completed the stage just 47 seconds behind the stage winner and current leader of the race, Ricky Brabec. That leaves him eighth in the standings, an hour off the leaders.

Daniel Sanders – P4

“It was quite a slow start for me today as my body was quite sore from yesterday. When I got to refuelling, I had a little motivational talk with myself and that seemed to do the trick. I really focused on my roadbook, and I think I hit a few notes that some of the other guys may have missed. So, I was able to make some decent time up today and bounce back from a tough couple of days with a good result.”

Harith Noah made a surprise appearance in the top five too, on the Sherco TVS Rally Factory, only two-minutes off the lead, ahead of Luciano Benavides who put in another strong performance with an excellent ride to finish in sixth place on stage 10’s technically demanding timed special.

While others struggled with the navigation required to successfully complete the stage without issue, the Husqvarna Factory Racing rider worked his way through the route, maintaining a good pace and strong rhythm. The Argentinian remains seventh in the overall standings with just two days left to contest.

Luciano Benavides – P6

“It was a good day today. Racing 370 kilometres of rocky canyons with tricky sections was tough but I think I did a good job. It could have been very easy to make a mistake today but I am focused on getting to the end. The final stages look hard too, but, as every day, I will do my best and learn from each stage as I go. In the overall standings it’s not easy to move up but I’m trying my hardest and we will see what happens over the final two days.”

For Ross Branch, who started the day in fifth position, the early kilometres were fast. A slight navigational mistake towards the latter part of the day cost the Botswanan rider time, eventually leading to his sixth place finish in the Rally GP Class. In the overall rankings, his gap has widened a bit further to over 10 minutes from the current leader of the race.

Ross Branch – P7

“Stage 10 is over and done with! It was a really nice stage, I had a lot of fun on the bike, and the terrain suited me well too. Unfortunately, the navigation was a bit tricky, and I made a small mistake that cost me a bit of time. I was really pushing this morning, and I rode with Toby Price and Pablo Quintanilla for most of the day. I’m back here in one piece, the bike’s good, I’m good, and we look forward to the last 2 days. I’m grateful for all the support we’re receiving from all over – it means a lot to us as a team. It’s not the end of the race yet; I’m going to push on till the last kilometre. We will continue the fight to fly our flag high.”

With times so tight, even just a small mistake on today’s special could knock you down the order and using the first few kilometres to develop a good rhythm on his KTM 450 RALLY, Kevin Benavides steadily increased his pace as the stage progressed, moving himself up from 15th at kilometre 138 to eighth at the finish. He retains his top-five position in the provisional overall standings with two days of racing remaining.

Kevin Benavides – P8

“Another hard stage today – a lot of stones and tricky navigation that we always see in this area. I think I did a good job – I kept up the pace for the whole day more or less, so I’m happy with my performance. Tomorrow is a long stage with a 480-kilometer special, so I have a good starting position for that. With two stages left to race, the plan is to just keep on pushing and make it safely to the finish.”

Mathieu Doveze finished the day in ninth, ahead of a consistent Toby Price. Despite losing a little time over the final 50 kilometres to his rivals, two-time Dakar Champion Price was able to complete the stage in 10th place. The Australian lies sixth overall, one place behind teammate Benavides.

Toby Price – P10

“It was a decent stage for me today. I made a couple of little mistakes towards the end, but overall, I’m happy with how things went. The boys out front did a really good job, and it’s definitely a mission to try and keep hold of them. All in all, I’m feeling good – my wrist was suffering a little in the rocks out there today, but yeah, it was a good stage. I caught Pablo (Quintanilla) and was riding with him for a bit, then Ross (Branch) caught up. It was good fun to ride in the group like that. Couple of stages left to go, so we’ll keep pushing and see what happens at the end.”

After getting caught out with the navigation, Pablo Quintanilla rode with Branch and Toby Price to the end of the stage playing it safe as a group to finish the day in eleventh.

Pablo Quintanilla – P11

“We were expecting a not so difficult day but in the end it was pretty tough with a lot of rocky sections and hard navigation. The last part was not easy to navigate with some tricky notes between the rocks and valleys. It didn’t make much sense for me to push in these conditions when I didn’t feel so confident, it was a case of managing to get to the end safely.”

Brabec leads the overall

Brabec holds a 10m54s lead in the overall standings over Ross Branch with two stages to go, however second through fourth are tighter, with Van Beveren (+11m46s) and Cornejo (+13m48s) both not far off the Hero Motorsports rider, making three Monster Energy Hondas in the top four.

KTM’s Benavides sits fifth, but that gap extends to 32m43s, followed by Toby Price with a 42m gap, a sizeable difference to close down with just two stages left, especially with the final special only being 175 km.

Daniel Sanders sits 1h34s off the lead, behind Luciano Benavides (+51m42s), despite a strong stage 10 result.

2024 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Results

Stage 11 Route

The penultimate day looms on the horizon as the battle for the podium positions continue as they head east to Yanbu, across rugged terrain from AlUla where the Red Sea will greet the riders at the end of a draining 480 km special stage.

2024 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage 10

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule