After 7 Stages of the 2024 Dakar Rally, American Ricky Brabec still leads by the barest of margins… 1 second separates him from Ross Branch after 32 hours of rallying! The 2020 Dakar Rally winner has been consistent since the start in AlUla staying in the top three of the overall standings before taking the top spot after the 48 Hour Chrono on Friday. Catching teammate Adrien Van Beveren and fellow winner Toby Price during Sunday’s Stage 7, Brabec bagged a share of the bonuses gaining nearly four minutes. His 5th place finish was just enough to keep him at the top of the overall standings.
“The one second difference is crazy, that’s a tight race for sure,” exclaimed Brabec when he saw timing and scoring. “I’ve spent seven days up front opening with my teammates 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.”
While Brabec is focused on winning the war of attrition that saw his HRC Honda teammate Skyler Howes and their fellow American Mason Klein taken out, Nacho Cornejo won another battle taking his 3rd Stage win. In spite of a small fall he carved out a three minute gap to reigning World Rally-Raid champion Luciano Benavides. “I knew it would be a day where I would have to recover some minutes, so I kept pushing,” claims Cornejo. “I ended up doing a good stage so I’m happy.” Achieving his goal Cornejo is now back in 3rd overall, just 6 minutes 48 seconds behind Brabec.
The intensity of this 46th edition of the Dakar continues as the team heads 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 organizers have said Stage 8 from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il will be easier than the previous days, they admit rocky terrain is back in the mix for the route tomorrow.
Dakar 2024 Results – Stage 7
Pos. Rider Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 CORNEJO José Ignacio "Nacho" CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda 05:18:33
2 BENAVIDES Luciano ARG Husqvarna Factory Racing Husqvarna +3:12
3 BENAVIDES Kevin ARG Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +3:32
4 BRANCH Ross BWA Hero Motorsports Team Rally Hero +6:36
5 BRABEC Ricky USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda
