With just three days left of the finish line, the pressure is on! Former 2X winner Ricky Brabec’s race-craft now comes into play as a slight miscalculation by defending champ Daniel Sanders saw the Top American consolidate is overall lead on Stage 10. Brabec’s day was impressive, if calculated. Starting 4th, he used the tracks ahead to his advantage. His rhythm was briefly interrupted when he stopped to check on Daniel Sanders following his crash in the dunes, but he quickly regrouped to claim second place. A 1’37” time credit for assisting Sanders proved crucial, lifting Brabec back to the top of the overall standings. With the leaderboard reshuffled once again, Brabec now leads the rally by just 56 seconds over Luciano Benavides after more than 41 hours of racing.
“The Marathon Stage was good overall,” said Brabec from the bivouac. “We got to sleep on the ground, under the stars, it was really cool. Overall, the two days was awesome, we did the best job we could and the outcome is pretty good. If we’re still in a good position for the next three days, we’ll just keep doing the best we can and we’ll keep plugging away.”
The two-day Marathon forced riders to conserve tires and baby the bikes without outside assistance. “We made it back which is my main goal, my bike is in one piece, so for my mechanics it’s super awesome. The times are super tight, I don’t know if I still like it, but it’s a good race I’m sure for the people watching. We’ll keep fighting, there’s three days to go, hopefully at the end of this thing we’re in the position we want to be in.”
Provisional RallyGP Standings after Stage 10
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1 Ricky Brabec 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC 41:35:13
2 Luciano Benavides 77 ARG Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 00:56
3 Tosha Schareina 68 SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 15:43
4 Daniel Sanders 1 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 17:37
5 Skyler Howes 10 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 38:53
6 Adrien Van Beveren 42 FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 58:25
7 Nacho Cornejo 11 CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 01:01:31
8 Ross Branch 16 BWA Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 02:21:29
9 Bradley Cox 7 RSA Sherco Rally Factory + 04:10:23
10 Mason Klein 98 USA Hoto Factory Racing + 04:51:28
