Dakar Rally 2024 Stage 10 Results

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Honda’s Ricky Brabec has increased his gap on the field to almost 11 minutes. (MCH Photography/)

With two days to the finish line, the battle in the Dakar Rally bike category is closer than ever. On Stage 10, the loop around the AlUla region (371 kilometers, about 231 miles, of special stage) saw Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec secure the day and increase his gap even further—now 10 minutes, 54 seconds on his rival Ross Branch.

“The day was good,” the American said. “It took me a 100 kilometers [62 miles] to catch Adrien [Van Beveren], he was riding really well. Then we rode together. The navigation was not easy, and we made some tiny mistakes here and there, but we are in a good position for Stage 11. Let’s keep fighting. We have a little bit of margin.”

Adrien Van Beveren is third overall, hot on the heels of Hero Motorsports’ Ross Branch. (MCH Photography/)

Stable and consistent since day 1, Brabec scored his first stage win this year: “I think we are in a good position for Stage 11, which should be the most difficult and crucial for the rally. It’s the second stage of the 2023 edition but in reverse order. The terrain will be mainly rocks, but I have to say that it is familiar to me. Two days to go. I am opening Stage 11 but I’m confident.”

Ricky smiles; he is happy. Every day of the Dakar he gets closer to the dream of another overall win. He is a warrior and he is ready to fight for it.

Brabec’s lead has grown, but it is not enough to relax with just two days left. (MCH Photography/)

Since the beginning of the second week, he has his game face on—not only in his facial expression, but every part of his body tells a lot about his dedication to this. His lion tattoo on his back, the Dakar Tuareg on his arm sealing his 2020 success as the first American to win the Dakar Rally, and then an anchor on his calf with the motivational “Sinking is not an option.” For Brabec it would be his second crown, for Van Beveren or Nacho Cornejo, it could be their first.

Atmosphere around the Honda bivouac is electric; looking at the overall, Brabec is leading, Van Beveren is third just 11 minutes, 46 seconds from the lead, and Cornejo is back 13 minutes, 48 seconds. With these results the stakes are even higher: Honda could lock up the entire podium.

What about team order? “We are close to being a triple Honda on the podium,” Brabec said. “For sure Nacho will push to gain some time on Branch. He is very strong; he opened up 92 percent of the whole rally. I don’t think there is a team strategy; if there was, it would be much easier. With the three of us so close, there won’t be strategy for Stage 11. I think it’s the last day for sure.”

Nacho Cornejo is just 13 minutes, 48 seconds behind Brabec. (MCH Photography/)

Brabec and Cornejo have shared the camping car for the last five Dakars. “We are more than teammates,” Brabec said, “we are friends. It would be great if both of us could be on the podium.”

Branch finished seventh but didn’t lose his smile. “It was super fun for me, I made a small mistake after the refueling so I lost some time, unfortunately. It is what it is, and the race is not finished, so I will keep on fighting to the very last kilometer. But a good day on the bike is a good day overall. I rode with Toby Price and it was great,” said the Botswanan from Hero Motorsports who has really set the difference this year.

The first KTM is that of 2023 Dakar winner Kevin Benavides (fifth), followed by Toby Price and Luciano Benavides on Husqvarna. The Argentine is currently 32 minutes, 43 seconds from the lead: “I am happy with my performance. When I was injured on December 3, it looked very serious and I worried about my participation, so already being here and fighting is great. I feel so much support from the fans. I did a solid stage. It was very demanding with lots of rocks. Together with my brother we are doing the best. We know that Stage 11 will be 480 kilometers [298 miles] of stones so it will be even harder.”

KTM’s Kevin Benavides is fifth, just over a half hour down from the front-runner. (KTM/)

His brother Luciano reflected about the difficulties encountered this year by the three brands of the Austrian manufacturer (KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas “I can be happy on the stage although I made some navigation mistakes. Looking at the big picture, as a team we are not getting the results we wanted—I think there is some work to do. It’s a bit frustrating. We need to keep on improving the bike because we don’t have the rhythm of the front-runners. We need to learn and collect the data so that we can evolve.”

Husqvarna’s Luciano Benavides commented about the front-runners: “Brabec and Van Beveren opened the track the whole day at an impressive rhythm. Everybody can see it, they are a step ahead of us. The Honda riders have won almost all the stages. They are doing a great job, so we just need to get information and keep on working. Looking at overall, it’s true that everything is open till the end, but to recover 51 minutes is a lot.”

A day of rocks awaits the Dakar riders on the 480-kilometer (298 miles) Stage 11. (KTM/)

The Dakar Rally is ready for the final rush. Two days remain: AlUla to Yanbu with its 480 kilometers (298 miles) of rocks and tricky terrain, and then the sprint race on January 19 with a 175-kilometer (109 miles) loop from Yanbu on the Red Sea.

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