10 minutes separate Branch and Brabec with one final 175 km of special stage to go…

2024 Dakar Rally – Prologue
Alula > Yanbu

Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Ross Branch put in an impressive effort on Stage 11, finishing six and a half minutes ahead of current standings leader Ricky Brabec, who opened the stage after his victory yesterday.

However with Brabec awarded 5m45s for opening the entire stage, that gap was largely erased, with just 32s separating the leading duo for the stage in the final tally, while Brabec retained most of his 11-minute lead in the overall standings heading into the final stage tomorrow.

Ross Branch – P1

“It was a really cool stage today. I had a lot of fun right from the start until the finish. I really enjoyed myself out there – the bike was going amazing, and I made no mistakes today – which is quite important to stay calm in the race. The leader of the race has a significant lead over me, but I’m really happy with where I am at the moment, and I’m looking forward to the last day tomorrow.”

Ricky Brabec – P2

“I would say today was my best ride of the rally. The first goal on the Dakar is always to make it to the rest day and then the next goal is to make it to the finish. If you finish the Dakar, that’s a win. It’s not easy, especially for the bikes because we’re up at three in the morning and we’re riding all morning, we’re riding all day and we’re getting back to the bivouac late. But finishing the Dakar is a win in my book and if you can win the Dakar it’s legendary.”

Adrien Van Beveren has spent this week chipping away at Branch for that second spot on the podium and at the end of play yesterday had got it down to just a minute. The Frenchman has opened the way for over 1137 km during this year’s event, 619 km of it on his own, so quite understandably was in no rush to catch up to Brabec and Cornejo when he left the line this morning in third. Although he also had planned to attack today, he ended up with a few surprises including a fall from a near miss with a camel which activated his airbag.

His third place finish today has increased the gap by fou-minutes to the Botswanan who will have the task of opening tomorrow. This could though potentially give Van Beveren an advantage to leapfrog him heading into the final kilometres.

Adrien Van Beveren – P3

“Of course I’m going to fight to the end, I’m going to give my best as I do every day. Until you cross the finish line you don’t know what will happen. I decided to attack today and it was a stage full of rocks, so I couldn’t push too hard as I didn’t want to make any mistakes. At one point in the stage there was a group of camels and I saw that they were crossing the main track. When I got close to them the last one decided to turn around and I tried to avoid him but there was a stone and I had a big fall. When I got up I was a bit dazed but I managed to focus quickly enough to get back on the pace.”

Benavides benefitted from his mid-pack start position as the sixth competitor to take to stage 11’s timed special – a stage the organisers had promised to be one of the toughest so far in terms of terrain.

Heading from AlUla towards the Red Sea at Yanbu, Luciano stormed the demanding 420-kilometre special, clocking the third-fastest time by the 228-kilometre checkpoint. Using his skill and experience to deliver a near mistake-free ride, Benavides was able to maintain his pace over the rest of the special to ultimately post the fourth-quickest time.

Luciano Benavides – P4

“Stage 11 was another long day in the desert. It was one of those difficult days where you have to be really careful not to crash or make any mistakes as it was super rocky and the navigation through the canyons was quite tricky. I think I did a good job and I’m happy with how this Dakar has gone for me. Of course, I’d like to be nearer the front but I’m happy to be here and we know that next time we can push harder as a team.”

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Toby Price focused on pushing hard on the special for the day,  starting eighth into the stage, the Australian put in a solid ride, making the minimum of mistakes on the unforgiving terrain to steadily move himself up the day’s time-sheets.

Price reached as high as fourth place at the midway point of the special, but ultimately secured fifth place at the finish line after the leader’s bonus time was factored in. Lying in provisional sixth overall, Price will undoubtedly be looking to give his all one last time at this year’s Dakar, on Friday’s stage 12.

Toby Price – P5

“Another day done here at the Dakar, and everything is feeling good. The stones are definitely a challenge to get through, but I didn’t make any major navigational mistakes today, there were just a couple of little sections where I had to make a small adjustment. That’s one more stage ticked off and it brings us closer to the finish, which is a nice feeling. I’m feeling good physically, the bike is good, so I’ll look forward to tomorrow and just crossing that finish line safely.”

Bradley Cox claimed sixth for the stage for the Bas World KTM Racing Team, followed by Kevin Benavides who took a little time to find a good rhythm on the rock-covered tracks, but soon began to climb up the leaderboard.

From 11th fastest at kilometre 43, the Argentinian made excellent progress to ultimately complete the special in seventh. Another solid ride on tomorrow’s stage 12 should secure the reigning Dakar Champion a top-five result in the overall standings.

Kevin Benavides – P7

“It was a tough stage today and a really long one at 420 kilometres. I really tried my best today and gave it all I could. As we know, the results aren’t quite where we would want them to be, but we’re still in the race and with one day to go, I’m looking forward to completing the rally tomorrow. My plan is to keep on pushing, right to the end, and finish the race on a high.”

Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders delivered another respectable ride through the timed special on day 11 at the Dakar. Even though he was one of the leading riders out there after placing fourth yesterday, Daniel’s speed early on ensured he picked up another top-10 stage finish to all but secure eighth in this year’s event. Now, just one 175-kilometre special separates Sanders from finishing his third Dakar from four starts.

Daniel Sanders – P8

“The whole body is really sore now after 11 gnarly days on the bike. Towards the end of today it was pretty tough as it was rocky and I made a few mistakes with my navigation, but I made it to the end and we’re all good for the last day tomorrow. Coming into this year with only two weeks on the bike wasn’t really the best preparation but I know my speed is good, it’s just my fitness that’s holding me back a little. Tomorrow I’ll be starting a little further back, so I’ll definitely be going for it on the final day.”

Behind Daniel Sanders, Martin Michek and Stefan Svitko rounded out the top-10.

Pablo Quintanilla had a fairly steady stage, taking the lead early on but ultimately just made it into the top ten from the Rally GP ranks, over seventeen minutes down on the stage winner.

Pablo Quintanilla – P12

“It was a long stage and I was able to stay ahead for the first 100 kilometres and after that I caught up with several riders but it was impossible to overtake because there were narrow canyons and it was quite dusty. It actually felt like an enduro stage so I was happy to get to the end.”

Despite not feeling well Nacho Cornejo caught up to his teammate Brabec early on today, 115 km into the special he came to a standstill with a fuel pump issue. He managed to rectify it but lost over twenty-five minutes and sadly his chance to fight for the final spot on the podium in what was a cruel blow to the Chilean’s impressive Dakar adventure this year.

José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo – P15

“I had some issues with my fuel tank so I had to manage my speed a bit to be sure of finishing the stage. I lost some precious minutes in the fight for the podium, so it was a tough day emotionally, but it’s racing, things like that happen. I just need to keep moving forward. I wanted to be up there as much as I could as I was riding and navigating well, so we’ll try again next year.”

Brabec retains overall lead into Dakar final

Brabec holds a strong 10m22s lead over Branch heading into the final, with Van Beveren just over four-minutes behind the Botswanan in third.

From there it’s a 24-minute gap back to Cornejo, with the gap widening further to Kevin Benavides and Toby Price in fifth and sixth. Daniel Sanders holds eighth, 1h12m25s off the lead, behind Luciano Benavides (+55m48s).

Branch would well and truly have his work cut out for him to reign in Brabec with that gap for the win, with Van Beveren a danger to his second-place position.

10-minutes separate Cornejo, Benavides and Price, in fourth through sixth, however that is again a sizeable gap with a 175 km special.

2024 Dakar Rally Stage 11 Results

Stage 12 Route

The penultimate day of the Dakar Rally is done with the top step beckoning tomorrow for one rider. A short 175 km stage close to the crystal blue waters of the Red Sea will decide who receives the Bedouin trophy with a race to the finish on a rocky desert loop around Yanbu.

2024 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage 11

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule