“Viva Argentina. Es historia”. Ten years ago there wasn’t a single Argentinian rider on the Dakar. A decade later Kevin Benavides became the first South American to win the Dakar in the elite motorcycle category.
Originally from Salta, a staple destination for rally raids in Argentina, the Monster Energy Honda Racing Team rider is part of the new generation of racers who fell in love with rally, after the arrival of the Dakar in South America in 2009.
Alongside Benavides’s success at the 2021 Dakar in Saudi Arabia, the Monster Energy Honda Rally Team scored a historic 1-2; with 2020 Dakar winner Ricky Brabec in P2 – something that hadn’t happened for Honda since 1987 with Cyril Neveu and Edi Orioli.