Only a second separates outright leaders after Dakar Stage Seven

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage Seven
Riyadh > Al Duwadimi

The second week of the Dakar 2024 has kicked off with Monster Energy Honda Team riders proving dominant once again, José Ignacio Cornejo cementing his status as one of the favourites with a flawless ride to the stage victory.

The day’s 483 km special featured perplexing navigation on small winding gravel tracks around eye-catching canyons, off-piste wadis, a couple of dune sections and adding to this was a total 390 km of liaison as they headed to Al Duwadimi.

Cornejo went into the final week just out of the podium positions, team-mate Adrien Van Beveren taking the final spot after a faultless 48 Hour Chrono win, so the Chilean’s aim was to get back in the hunt. In spite of a small fall he carved out over a three-minute gap to reigning World Rally-Raid champion Luciano Benavides.

José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo – P1

“It was a long liaison and there was a lot of navigation at the beginning so I wasn’t entirely comfortable to start with. I knew it would be a day where I would have to recover some minutes so I kept pushing and I ended up doing a good stage so I’m happy.”

Maintaining a consistent speed throughout the challenging 483-kilometre special, which took competitors along winding, rocky paths before transitioning into a stretch of dunes, Luciano Benavides steadily improved his position to ultimately secure his runner-up finish.

Luciano Benavides – P2

“I’m really pleased with how today’s stage has gone for me. We made some changes to the bike and they have really paid off – even on the many different terrains today, the bike felt good, and that helped to increase my confidence. It was a long stage but I was able to settle into a good rhythm for much of the special. I did make a couple of mistakes that cost me some time, but on the whole, it was a really positive stage. The goal now is to carry this feeling into tomorrow and the rest of the rally.”

Following on from his seventh-place result on the rally’s 48-hour marathon stage, Kevin Benavides used the day’s later start position to the best of his advantage, pushing hard with the goal of chasing down the riders ahead. Midway through the special, Kevin moved into the top two on the time-sheets, locked in a closely fought battle for the lead. Crossing the line as second-fastest, before a subsequent three-minute penalty knocked him down to third.

Kevin Benavides – P3

“It was a really long and tough stage today. Including the liaisons, we covered over 870 kilometers after waking up at 3am! Going into the special, I really tried to focus on the roadbook and my navigation. Even though the terrain was really mixed, I was able to stick to a good rhythm and carry that through the whole stage. The penalty is unfortunate, but I’m happy with how I rode the stage and will carry the fight into tomorrow.”

Ross Branch completed the stage with the fourth fastest time, and with it, solidified his position on the overall leaderboard, trailing the leader by just a second despite giving up quite a bit of time for the day.

Ross Branch – P4

“It was a long stage today as well – 480 km of really tough riding. But it was also a lot of fun. Lots of open flowing tracks and wadis and some dunes in the middle – I enjoyed it! The race in the front is now really close, so we’ve got a few days to manage it well and see what we can do!”

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Brabec has been consistent since the start in AlUla where he’s been in the top three of the overall standings before nabbing the top spot after the 48 Hour Chrono on Friday. Catching teammate Adrien Van Beveren and Toby Price during the stage today, he joined in for a share of the bonuses gaining nearly four minutes and fifth for the stage.

Ricky Brabec – P5

“The one-second difference is crazy, that’s a tight race for sure. I’ve spent seven days up front opening with my team-mates so I’m kind of looking for a break at some point to come from the back and really make a charge. I don’t know when that day is going to arrive but hopefully it comes by the end of the rally, we shall see. We have five days left so we can keep pushing and hopefully secure the top spot at the end.”

Daniel Sanders certainly came out swinging on stage seven and even though he didn’t have the most favourable starting position after placing fourth on Friday, Chucky dug deep to deliver another strong result in sixth for the stage, eventually catching the leaders and following their in their dust.

Daniel Sanders – P6

“Yeah, another very long day today. It wasn’t too bad though, not too draining or anything, I just tried to stay with the leaders on stage really. Navigation was a little tricky early on, so focusing on the roadbook was really important. Then, near the end, I caught up to the guys in front but then had to ride in their dust a little bit. Overall, it was a good stage and I’ve got a heap of energy left for the last few days, so I’m looking forward to the days ahead.”

Finishing the day seventh was Stefan Svitko, leading home Australia’s Toby Price on the time sheets, who originally entered the stage as the second rider and soon caught up with the one rider ahead of him, to assist in opening the special.

Despite not making too many errors, and accumulating close to four minutes in bonus time, Toby ultimately lost out on the rider behind following in his wheel tracks.

Toby Price – P8

“A tough day for me today on what was the longest stage of this year’s race. I rode well but it was hard to make good time from the front as the navigation was really tricky today. It meant the guys starting later on were able to make up quite a lot of ground and obviously, that cost us in the results. I’m feeling good and the bike is great, we’re just not quite where we need to be at the moment. There is still five, long stages to go though, so I’ll keep on pushing and aim to make up time on the boys ahead.”

Rounding out the top-10 was Adrien Van Beveren, followed by Martin Michek. Van Beveren was always going to find it a tough ask to not lose time, as the first rider out onto the stage and opening the special. After conquering the dunes at the end of last week, a change of terrain and complicated navigation saw him end the day in a very frustrating ninth.

Adrien Van Beveren – P9

“I knew opening the road was no piece of cake, but the navigation was mind-boggling so I did my best to stay alert. I hung on, but I ended up wandering around the dunes. There was smoke coming out of my head, but that’s the way it is.”

Standings after Stage Seven

When the dust settled after Stage Seven, Ricky Brabec now holds the overall lead, just a second clear of Hero’s Ross Branch, both riders with a one-minute penalty to their name so far.

Jose Ignacio Cornejo meanwhile sits third, almost seven minutes off the lead, of which six-minutes can be attributed to penalties. It’s a greater jump back to Adrien Van Beveren, almost 15m off pace, followed by Kevin Benavides (+24m39) and Toby Price (+31m).

Daniel Sanders then holds seventh in the standings, trailing Price by an addition 6m41s, followed by Luciano Benavides, Stefan Svitko and Martin Michek, to round out the top-10.

2024 Dakar Rally Stage Seven Results

Stage Eight Route

The intensity of this 46th edition of the Dakar continues as riders head into the final five days of rallying with a total of 678 km on the bike tomorrow, 458 km making up the special stage. Although the organisers have said stage eight from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il will be easier than the previous days, rocky terrain is back on the route tomorrow and it won’t favour every rider.

2024 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Seven

Dakar Rally 2024 Route Map

2024 Dakar Rally Schedule