Rally Dakar 2021 is officially over, with Argentinean Kevin Benavides taking the win. It’s a historic moment for Benavides; no Argentinean – or indeed South American – rider has ever won the Dakar in the motorcycle class. The 32-year-old rode his first Dakar Rally in 2016, racing for the Honda South America Rally Team, finishing his debut race in 4th place. Benavides has been with Monster Energy Honda Team ever since. This year, the Argentinean won the fifth stage giving him the overall lead, and fought for the victory till the end.
“It was absolutely crazy. I started third and after fifty kilometers, I was in the front, opening the stage. I feel that everything was complicated because Ricky started to catch up with me. I started to push a lot, all day, and stayed focused. I went at one hundred and ten percent, but now it’s true: I’ve won the Dakar – I’m so, so happy! I did some mistakes, for sure. I think it’s impossible to do a perfect Dakar. The important thing
Spain double as Sainz back on course as Barreda seals hattrick 1 minute read
Sports Desk, Jan 8 (efe-epa).- The sixth stage of the Dakar Rally on Friday saw a Spanish double win, as Carlos Sainz (Mini) recovered from disappointing recent performances to victory in the cars and Joan Barreda (Honda) took his third stage win of the race in the motorbikes category.
Sainz’s performance on the 100-kilometer route between Al Qaisumah and Ha Il puts him back on track after twice getting lost in recent days, scuppering his chances of retaining his title.
At the finish line, he cut 7.16 minutes off the Qatari Al Attiyah and 7.36 minutes off the leader, the Frenchman Peterhansel. In the general classification he is third, more than 40 minutes away from the leader, a likely insurmountable advantage.
Stage 5: Peterhansel sets cars pace, Benavides takes lead in bikes 1 minute read
Sports Desk, Jan 7 (efe-epa).- France’s Stephane Peterhansel, “Monsieur Dakar” as he is known for his 13 victories in the so-called world’s toughest rally, kept the lead in the cars category after the fifth stage, in which reigning champion Spanish Carlos Sainz, again fell behind after getting lost.
The big news of the day came in the motorcycle category: the Argentinean Kevin Benavides, sporting a broken nose after coming off his bike, got to the finish line in first to take the lead in the general standings.