Second Consecutive Dakar Rally Victory for Honda
Monster Energy Honda
riders Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec post 1-2 finish
January 15, 2021 —
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia
For the second year in a row, Honda earned the overall victory in the
Dakar Rally’s motorcycle category, with Argentinean Kevin Benavides finishing
ahead of Monster Energy Honda teammate Ricky Brabec, the Southern Californian
who last year became the first winner from the USA. It was the first Dakar
Rally win for the 32-year-old Benavides, who rode his first Dakar Rally in
2016, and the first time in 34 years that Honda took the top two spots in the
grueling international endurance event, with Cyril Neveu and Edi Orioli having
managed the feat in 1987.
The Dakar Rally’s 43rd edition (the second in Saudi Arabia) comprised a
prolog and 12 stages and covered nearly 5,000 miles in a counterclockwise loop
around Saudi Arabia, starting and finishing in the port city of Jeddah.
Approximately 3,000 miles of the route were in timed (or “special”) stages, and
Benavides had a winning tally of 47 hours, 18 minutes, 14 seconds, less than
five minutes better than Brabec.
It was a dominant performance by Honda Racing Corporation’s factory
rally effort, whose CRF450 Rally-mounted riders won nine of 12 stages plus the
prolog—two stages by Benavides, three stages and the prolog by Brabec, three
stages by Joan Barreda and one stage by Jose Cornejo. Barreda and Cornejo were
forced to drop out of the race—the former after missing a fuel stop and running
out of fuel, and the latter following a hard crash.
“I gave everything to achieve this win which is a dream come true for
me,” said Benavides, who is the first South American to win the event. “I am
very happy and thrilled about it.”
“Congratulations Kevin Benavides!” said Yoshishige Nomura, President of
Honda Racing Corporation. “I am also truly grateful to Ricky Brabec for
completing such a grueling rally in a manner as good as winning, José Ignacio
Cornejo who led the rally until his unfortunate retirement, and Joan Barreda.
Monster Energy Honda Team riders could only perform as well as they did despite
the COVID-19 situation, because of the team staff and everyone in the
development team working smart to overcome the many difficulties. I am truly
grateful. I would also like to share our elation in victory and our gratitude
with our sponsors and all of our fans. And last but certainly not least, I
respect and thank the race organizers and the other teams for making this event
a reality despite the extreme circumstances.
Honda’s Dakar Rally Win Record
YEAR
|
RIDER
|
NATIONALITY
|
MODEL
|
1986
|
Cyril Neveu
|
France
|
NXR750
|
1987
|
Cyril Neveu
|
France
|
NXR750
|
1988
|
Edi Orioli
|
Italy
|
NXR750
|
1989
|
Gilles Lalay
|
France
|
NXR750
|
2020
|
Ricky Brabec
|
USA
|
CRF450 Rally
|
2021
|
Kevin Benavides
|
Argentina
|
CRF450 Rally
|
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