While Preston Campbell was ripping up the Rally 2 ranks at the Ruta 40 Rally, HRC Rally GP heroes Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes lost their way on Stage 2… Literally. Brabec’s odometer went out and Howes’ route book tablet took a dump for the second day in a row.
“The day was good, stage two got cut a little bit short, like 200 km short,” said 2X Dakar winner Brabec. “So, short and sweet today with a big transfer at the end. I made one mistake early on, but it is what it is. I’m just here riding and getting some training in, so all is good, the team is doing great and we’re doing the best job we can.”
Brabec endured a difficult opening section after encountering issues with his odometer, dropping to tenth at the first waypoint and losing almost two-and-a-half minutes to Aussie rival Daniel Sanders early on. The American steadily recovered throughout the stage, climbing back to fourth by the finish, 5’25” behind the winner. He remains third overall, though now trails the rally lead by 12’35”.
Skyler Howes found a strong rhythm across the salt flats early in the day, but, like yesterday, his progress was hampered by another tablet malfunction. The issue caused him to lose valuable time after getting lost and he ultimately finished tenth, 9’31” off the pace.
“Stage two was short but a super physically demanding one,” said Howes. “It was 128 km with a lot of sand whoops, really really tight trees and like pokey trees too and I got some thorns stuck in my arm. It’s kind of like acupuncture, so if I move just right then I can’t use my fingers, so that was exciting. Today, I unfortunately had another tablet malfunction and I got lost this time, so that was a real big bummer, and it is what it is. But I still feel like I rode good and just pushed hard until the end and did what I could. It was almost 700 km today but only 120 km of racing, still a long day, but tomorrow’s going to be a big one, so we’ll keep pushing.”
Provisional Rally GP Standings After Stage 2
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1 Sanders Daniel 1 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team 05:20:11
2 Schareina Tosha 68 SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 11:01
3 Brabec Ricky 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 12:35
4 Benavides Luciano 77 ARG Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 15:00
5 Canet Edgar 73 SPA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 18:38
6 Howes Skyler 10 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 18:47
7 Van Beveren Adrien 42 FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 20:29
8 Branch Ross 16 BWA Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 22:05
9 Cox Bradley 7 RSA Sherco Rally Factory + 32:59
10 Cornejo Florimo José Ignacio 11 CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 34:28
