Cornejo tops Dakar Rally Stage Two | Branch retains lead

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage Two

Al Henakiyah > Al Duwadimi

The road to Al Duwadimi contained the first dune fields of this edition, as riders and crews head towards the geographical heart of Saudi Arabia. The dunes were not tough or numerous enough to shake up the standings; instead, navigational flair was put to good use to get out of one maze after another, in addition to marshalling their handling skills to overcome this 462 km long and generally fast special.  Ross Branch managed to cling on to the overall lead.

Disaster struck for the promising Mason Klein and his Kove machine at km 46, forcing the American to screech to a halt and spend two hours repairing his mount. His podium ambitions are dead and buried, but he remains in the race and could still pull a rabbit or two out of his hat on the road to Yanbu.

Nacho Cornejo, no stranger to the places of honour, capitalised on his navigational acumen. Starting in third place, he soon linked up with team-mates Ricky Brabec and Ross Branch to form a well-oiled three-cog machine that crossed the finish line together and hoovered up the time bonuses at stake.

José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo – P1

“It was another tough stage, it was very long with tricky navigation and tracks everywhere so it was easy to make mistakes. I caught the front group and then we rode together which was fun. It’s always nice to push but I did have a crash and Ricky (Brabec) and Ross (Branch) stopped to make sure I was OK before we continued on. Fortunately it wasn’t too bad for me or the bike so I’m happy with the result today, winning stages is always good.”

The Chilean’s seventh Dakar stage win propelled him to within 2′55″ of the Botswanan leader as the highest-ranked of the three Hondas near Branch.

Benavides rose to the challenge, clocking the fastest time after the first 100 kilometres and maintaining his speed, and top-three position on the timesheets throughout the day to ultimately complete the 463-kilometre timed special as runner-up.

Luciano Benavides – P2

“Today was a much better stage for me! I felt a lot better with the dunes and fast stretches whereas yesterday the rocks made it tough. I pushed hard the whole time even though it was tough being in the dust all day. All in all I’m in good shape, happy with the bike, and looking forward to stage three.”

With Quintanilla finishing in third and Brabec putting in another impressive performance in fifth, the overall standings see the Monster Energy Honda Team piling the pressure onto overall leader Ross Branch for the podium positions, Hero’s Sebastian Buhler between the two in fourth.

Pablo Quintanilla – P3

“It was a long stage like yesterday but a bit smoother and with less rocks. I started at a good pace although it was quite dusty and just before the refuelling I made a mistake on a note and lost some time. But we are on the right track because the race has only just started.”

Ricky Brabec – P5

“It’s only day two and we have eleven days left, it’s a long rally but I’m happy to be here and to get to ride in a group with my teammates. If you can ride with other people it all makes it fun. It’s always difficult to open the road especially when the stage is over 460 km long, but I’m happy to be here, so let’s keep the good vibes rolling and make it to the finish line.”

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It was thought that Sam Sunderland’s 14th place start on stage two would be to his advantage, however, after making up ground early on, the Brit would soon be in the dust of the leading riders, eventually racing across the line to post the sixth-fastest time.

Sam Sunderland – P6

“Honestly, today I felt much better out there than yesterday. It was a pretty fast stage today and another long, tough one. I rode in the dust a lot so focusing was important and yeah, I’m happy to be here at the finish line of stage two. I think I’m a little off the pace of where I need to be, but we’ll get there step by step.”

As the 16th rider to enter the special following his result from day one, Price pushed hard from the start while taking care not to make any mistakes on the technically demanding terrain. By kilometre 41, Toby was fifth-fastest on the timesheets, just 16 seconds down on the provisional leader.

Maintaining his strong pace, the two-time Dakar winner remained inside the top 10, despite making a couple of small navigational errors over the course of the stage. With times across the final top 10 proving to be incredibly tight, Price ultimately completed the special in seventh, a mere two minutes from second place. Lying eighth overall in the standings, Toby will enjoy a strong start position going into Monday’s long, 733-kilometre stage three.

Toby Price – P7

“Another long day today and this one was quite technical too with some tough navigation. The roadbook had a lot of close notes, and although I made a couple of small mistakes, I didn’t lose too much time. I’m trailing the leaders by a little bit, but it’s only day two here in the desert and there’s a long way to go. All in all, I’m fit, healthy, and kept the bike on two wheels today – so, feeling good and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Finding his rhythm on the third day Howes gained confidence on his Honda CRF450 RALLY across the 463 km special to get himself up to eighth as Adrien Van Beveren ended the day in ninth in what was a good result for the team.

Skyler Howes – P8

“It was a better result than yesterday but I’m still falling short of what I expect out of myself. I was pushing hard on the tracks and when you do this you either have to focus on the terrain or on the road book and to do both at a super high speed is difficult to do. I was managing and doing a pretty good job but twice I made some mistakes which was totally my fault. The stage itself was really fun as we had more rocks out there which I enjoyed. I feel like I rode better through them and I feel fresher than I did yesterday, so all in all it was a good day.”

Adrien Van Beveren – P9

“It was a tough day, I tried to go fast and was pushing on the tracks but I was struggling too much with the road book and got lost. My speed was good and I felt really comfortable on the bike so I’ll take these positives into tomorrow’s stage.”

Rounding out the stage top-10 was Stefan Svitko, with Ross Branch 11th.

Even with his 12th place finish on stage two, Daniel Sanders advances up to sixth in what matters most – the overall classification. On paper, his stage two result may not look the best but by posting consistent results through the opening two stages, the wily Australian has crept up the leaderboard to knock on the door of the top five.

Daniel Sanders – P12

“I wish I rode with today’s bike set-up yesterday, but we can’t change that now. I was much more comfortable today but unfortunately, I made a couple of navigational mistakes that cost me some time. But the main thing is, I felt completely comfortable on the bike, which is the main thing. I now just need to focus on my roadbook going forwards and we’ll be good. Not a bad day overall despite losing some time, but we’re here safe and sound at the end of day two and ready to fight another day.”

On this fast track, Sherco’s Rui Gonçalves was able to find a good rhythm and regain confidence, finishing 13th for the day, teammate Harith Noah overcame his physical problems yesterday and finished 22nd, Lorenzo Santolino forced to retire after a racing incident.

Lorenzo Santolino – Retired

“My 2024 Dakar is over…It’s a pity not to be able to see how far we could have gone this year. The whole team did a fantastic job, and the course offered the type of terrain and characteristics in which I could have been very competitive. It was a great effort by everyone, family, friends, sponsors, team, staff… Thank you all for your support. We will come back even stronger for the 2025 Dakar.”

Also making a solid start to the timed special on stage two, Kevin Benavides set off as the eighth rider from the gate and immediately started challenging for the top 10 on the timesheets, but finished the stage 19th.

Standings after Stage Two

Heading into Stage Three Branch leads Cornejo by 2m55s, Brabec 7m15s off the lead, with Quintanilla (+15m20s) and Luciano Benavides (+17m22s) fourth and fifth respectively.

Daniel Sanders holds sixth, 17m24s off the lead, followed by Sam Sunderland (+18m19s) and Toby Price (19m39s).

2024 Dakar Rally Stage Two Results

Stage Three Route

The Dakar Rally continues unabated tomorrow with stage three serving up a 438 km test and a 295 km liaison as riders will encounter a mix of sandy sections, dunes and very rough terrain which might cause a few tyre issues as they head deep into Saudi Arabia to Al Salamiya.  Another twist for the day is that mechanics will get just two hours to work on the bikes in the evening before they are taken to Parc Fermé at the bivouac.

2024 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Two

To complete the first week of the race, a new stage format has been invented over two days, plunging the riders into a unique experience in the heart of the Empty Quarter. Setting off from Shubaytah, separate specials have been prepared for the bikes/quads and cars/trucks: 620 km to be covered over two days for the former and 570 km for the others.

As regards the FIM competitors, a specific rule has been drawn up for the Rally GP riders, who will start out in reverse order of the previous day’s ranking.

In this vast desert of dunes, seven very basic bivouacs spread over six geographical points will be set up to welcome the riders and drivers. They will be obliged to stop as soon as they reach one of them once the cut-off time of 1600 has passed. On site, they will be given an allowance of 6 litres of water, a tent, a floor mat, a sleeping bag and a survival ration. Furthermore, these “rest zones” are totally isolated in terms of connections and telephone networks: the leading riders and drivers will have few clues as to the performances of their rivals! The following day at dawn, the competitors will start at one-minute intervals in the order they arrived at the bivouac.

The bonuses for riders opening the way has been increased to 1.5 seconds per kilometre, in order to decrease the advantage that a rider may have been tempted to take the day before by slowing before entering the rest zone in order to start the next day in second place rather than out in front.

On the return to Shubaytah, the riders will finally be able to await the finishes of their rivals to discover whether their performance has been good or bad in terms of the general rankings. A plane will then take them to Riyadh, where they will at last be able to rest!

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule