Former Dakar winner and Top American Ricky Brabec holds a podium spot going into the final stage of the Desafio Ruta 40 Rally in Argentina. He finished third on Stage 4, one minute, 40 seconds behind stage leader Luciano Benavides. HRC Rally teammate Pablo Quintanilla was in front of the race until kilometer 228 and finished the day in 6th position (4:59 min gap). Adrien Van Beveren completed the 345 km of Special Stage in 8th place (9’:02 min gap) and José Ignacio Cornejo was 9th (11:19 min gap).
“The stage was good, two days ago we did more or less the same round but just in the other direction," said Brabec from the bivouac. "The second part of the stage was Fiambala with its sand dunes… we have seen soft dunes since Dakar. This was a day where opening bonus time made sense. Looking forward to the final day.”
Stage 5 finale features 305 km of liaison and 258 km of Special Stage between the cities of Belén and Salta. This course will be mainly gravel and sand tracks.
Provisional Results – 2023 Desafio Ruta 40, Stage 4
1. Luciano Benavides (ARG), Husqvarna, 2:53:57
2. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 2:54:33 +0:36
3. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 2:55:43 +1:46
4. Michael Docherty (ZAF), KTM, 2:57:17 +3:20
5. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 2:58:37 +4:40
Provisional Standings – 2023 Desafio Ruta 40 (after 4 of 5 stages)
1. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 13:15:26
2. Luciano Benavides (ARG), Husqvarna, 13:21:13 +5:47
3. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 13:38:39 +23:13
4. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, 13:44:49 +29:23
5. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 13:47:54 +32:28
