Rennie Scaysbrook | January 15, 2021
Get daily updates on the 2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results and News. After a ten-kilometer prologue on January 2nd, 2021 Dakar Rally runs from January 3rd to January 15th in Saudi Arabia with twelve stages.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage 12
Kevin Benavides has won the 2021 Dakar Rally. The Argentine finished second on the final stage to Honda teammate Ricky Brabec, who would go on to finish second in the overall standings. This is the first one-two finish for Honda in the Dakar Rally since 1987.
“The final stage of this Dakar 2021 was very difficult: I started third so I thought that it would be easier, but it was not like that,” Benavides said. “At kilometer 50 all the riders in front got lost, so I began to open the track. The stage has been very difficult to navigate so I stayed very focused on doing things well. I gave everything to achieve this win which is a dream come true for me. I am very happy and thrilled about it. I crossed the finish line thinking about many things, with great emotions… Paulo Gonçalves also crossed with me… It was a great moment.”
Benavides become the first rider from Argentina to win the Dakar Rally.
Brabec capped off the 2021 Dakar with the stage win, and is already looking ahead to the 2022 race.
“I tried to make a push to try and get Kevin seven minutes ahead, but unfortunately I failed that,” Brabec said. “I had to settle for the number two spot. All in all it was a great rally. My mentor and my assistant Kendall, my mechanic Eric did a great job and kept Nacho and I focused and in one piece. Thank you guys once again, and hopefully next year we’ll be able to take the number one back on this bike.”
Third for the rally went to Sam Sunderland. The Red Bull KTM rider had the unenviable task of opening the final road from Yanbu to Jeddah after winning Stage 11 and suffered as a result, finishing 13 minutes off the pace of Brabec in 12th and losing out to the American for second place overall by 02m17s.
Honda has taken their first Dakar Rally 1-2 since 1987.
Benavides becomes the first rider from Argentina to win the Dakar Rally in the motorcycle category, with the only other triumph for the nation coming in the Quad class.
Fourth overall and top rookie went to Daniel Sanders (KTM). The Australian Enduro Champion took fifth on Stage 12, just behind Skyler Howes (KTM), but finished behind the American in the overall standings.
Howes’ brilliant Dakar concluded with fourth on stage and fifth overall, his best result ever on the Dakar for the privateer BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team.
“This one feels good,” Howes said via Instagram. “The amount of hard work and sacrifice it took just to get here. The racing was next level, this was one tough Dakar. To be at the finish is a huge relief and to be top privateer and land in the top 5… damn, this is something I’m proud of. The people that came together and supported me, bought a t-shirt, my sponsors, the encouragement, it wouldn’t be possible without all of you! My team was amazing, thank you @bas_dakar for giving me the tools to accomplish this and keep me going every day.”
Sunderland had no choice but to pin it and hope for the best in the last stage. It didn’t work, but the Briton still came away with a podium in third overall.
Rounding out the top 10 for Stage 12 was Lorenzo Santolini (Sherco), Joan Pedro Garca (KTM), Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero), Jaume Betriu (KTM) and Sebastian Buhler (Hero).
The top 10 for the 2021 Dakar Rally stood as Benavides, Brabec, Sunderland, Sanders, Howes, Santolini, Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna), Stefan Svitko (KTM), Matthias Walkner (KTM) and Martin Michek (KTM).
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage 12
| 1 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+02m17s |
| 3 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+04m13s |
| 4 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+05m49s |
| 5 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+05m49s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Finish)
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+04m56s |
| 3 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+05m57s |
| 4 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+38m52s |
| 5 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+52m33s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage 11
Sam Sunderland has slashed Kevin Benavides’ lead in the 2021 Dakar Rally by taking victory on Stage 11.
The Briton came home 02m40s ahead of Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla with Benavides dropping 06m24s on Sunderland in third. Benavides thus has a buffer of 04m12s to Sunderland heading into the crucial final stage of the Rally tomorrow.
Sam Sunderland has raced into contention for the 2021 Dakar crown and will put it all on the line for tomorrow’s final stage.
“I gave my all today—I knew this stage would be one of the best chances I had to make up time on the guys in front,” Sunderland said. “It’s great to win the stage, but it means I have to open tomorrow for the last day, which will be hard. Still, anything can happen as we know, and I’ll keep fighting right to the end. It’s been another really long, tough stage but I’m grateful to be able to just race my bike through the desert, especially with everything that is going on in the world at the moment. I’m grateful to my team too for all the hard work they have put in to get us here. The plan now is to do my best again tomorrow and we’ll see where we are.”
Ricky Brabec’s (Honda) chances of retaining the Dakar title took a blow as he finished the stage sixth fastest, 12m46s behind Sunderland. That drops him one place to third, 07m13s from teammate Benavides.
“Big day to open on this one, it was expected to lose time today after all the competition was behind,” Brabec said via Instagram. “Today is said and done, tomorrow let’s make a final push and after a bit of drama from the orange brigade boys we’re fired up on this one!”
Benavides lost a chunk of time on Stage 11 but he still hangs on to the overall lead going into the final stage.
Australian rookie Daniel Sanders (KTM) had another impressive day in fourth which puts him in fourth overall after Honda’s Joan Barreda ran out of fuel. The Dakar rule book states refueling takes place during a 20-minute neutralization period, and the time is deducted from the competitor’s final stage time automatically. The Spaniard missed his refueling stop at the 174 km mark, running out of fuel at the 267 km mark and putting him out of the race.
Fifth for Stage 11 went to Matthias Walkner. The Austrian finished 09m27s off teammate Sunderland and now moves up to 11th overall and is in with a chance of a top 10 after seeing his victory chances go up in smoke with a clutch problem on Stage Two.
Sanders finished fourth on the stage and now holds fourth overall—the rookie is having an extremely impressive Dakar.
Skyler Howes had a tough day on the BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team entry. The Utah resident came home 13th, 25m53s from Sunderland, although he hangs onto his fifth place overall gained from the previous Stage 10. He’s 49m26s from the lead, but only 19 seconds ahead of the charging Lorenzo Santolini (Sherco) who finished seventh today, right behind Brabec.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage 11
| 1 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
|
| 2 |
Pablo Quintanilla |
Hus |
+02m40s |
| 3 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+06m24s |
| 4 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+08m34s |
| 5 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+09m27s |
| 6 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+12m46s |
| 13 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+25m53s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage 11)
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+04m12s |
| 3 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+07m13s |
| 4 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+33m05s |
| 5 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+49m07s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage 10
The dramatic 2021 Dakar Rally continued its form book on Stage 10, as Kevin Benavides took the lead after teammate and erstwhile leader Jose Ignacio Cornejo crashed out of the Rally.
On the 342 km test between Neom and Alula, Cornejo crashed at the 252 km mark, and although he made it to the end of the stage, was ruled out of the Rally after suffering a concussion. He was flown to the hospital, putting an agonizing end to his 2021 Rally.
Benavides has taken over the running at the front in a dramatic Stage 10.
It would be Ricky Brabec who would storm to the stage win and this puts him right back in overall contention. The American came home 03m15s ahead of teammates Joan Barreda and Benavides and now lies second, a mere 51 seconds behind Benavides.
“Today… slick tires and not so much traction made for a slippery slope,” Brabec said via Instagram. “We managed to catch the teammate around kilometer 70 and from there we took over opening all the way to finish today. Wishing for a speedy recovery to my guy @nachocornejo11 who had a big crash today and wasn’t feeling good. Two days left and still a lot of km to navigate….. let’s go!”
KTM’s faint hopes of Dakar glory took another hammering today, as now lead rider Sam Sunderland could only manage eighth on Stage 10, 12m37s behind Brabec. Sunderland is now cemented in third place 10m36s off Benavides.
Sunderland’s teammate Matthias Walkner took fifth on Stage 10 and now moves up to 13th overall, 02h26m17s off Brabec after his mechanical problems on Stage Two.
The number one is charging hard! Brabec has moved up to second following a dominant win on Stage 10 and is now right in the hunt for the overall win.
Skyler Howes’ brilliant 2021 Dakar continued as the Utah resident took fourth on Stage 10 (05m48s off Brabec) to move into the top five overall in fifth, 29m38s from Benavides.
“[It was] a fun day ripping through the desert,” Howes said via Instagram. “A lot of rocks and tough navigation again today. Learned my lesson yesterday and stayed on top of the roadbook and had a much better time. Caught up to a couple of guys and had a solid group ride for most of the stage. The dust was killer but got some fresh air for the last bit and brought her on in. Got a long day in the saddle tomorrow with one of the longest stages with dunes.”
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results — Stage 10
| 1 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+03m15s |
| 3 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+05m11s |
| 4 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+05m48s |
| 5 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+05m56s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results — Overall Stage 10
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+0m51s |
| 3 |
Sam Sunderland |
Hon |
+10m36s |
| 4 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+15m40s |
| 5 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+29m38s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Nine
Honda’s Jose Ignacio Cornejo has increased his lead in the overall standings of the 2021 Dakar Rally to 11m24s after finishing Stage Nine in third behind teammates Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec after drama struck second-placed rider and two-time champion, Toby Price (KTM).
Benavides took his second win of Dakar 2021, but the talk was of his brother, Luciano, and Toby Price.
On the 465 km loop around Neom, Price crashed out at the 155 km mark and was airlifted to hospital in Tabuk with suspected head, right wrist, and left shoulder injuries. Price was conscious during his transportation to the hospital, although the seriousness of his injuries is currently unknown.
Price was treated at the scene by Brabec and his KTM teammate Sam Sunderland, who dropped 15 minutes and 14 minutes, respectively. Both were awarded the time back, which will be tabled at the end of the Rally.
Luciano Benavides, Kevin’s brother, also crashed out of the Rally, the Argentine injuring his shoulder as he too was airlifted to Tabuk.
“Rough day out in the books today,” Brabec said via Instagram. “[I] Came up on the legend @tobyprice87 down and out of it so that put a gut-wrenching feeling in the program. We’re not giving up and we’re riding our ass off doing everything we can to get a podium spot. Tough rally and with three days left. Everything is possible.”
Price’s crash was a big one and puts the Aussie out of Dakar 2021.
Fourth on the stage went to Sunderland, the Briton 10m11s off winner Benavides and cementing third place after he too suffered a big crash.
“Obviously, it’s been a pretty rough day today,” Sunderland said. “I started off strong and was making good progress, handling the tricky navigation well. Then I came across Toby lying in the riverbed with Brabec already stopped with him. I helped there till the helicopter arrived then set off again and tried to get back into a good rhythm. Around 100 kilometers or so after that I was opening up for the group I was with and was looking down at the roadbook, hit a rock, and was sent over the handlebars. It was quite a big crash, quite a big impact, and luckily I wasn’t too badly hurt. But I damaged the roadbook tower on the bike had no navigation from then on. I managed to reach the finish by following others but that’s always hard. A really tough day for the team, but this is Dakar and it’s always a challenge.”
Sanders continues to shine on this year’s Dakar, taking eighth on Stage Nine.
Fifth on stage went the third Red Bull KTM factory machine of Matthias Walkner, 14m19s off Benavides. Rounding out the top 10 was Joan Barreda (Honda), Lorenzo Santolini (Sherco), leading rookie Daniel Sanders (KTM), American Skyler Howes (KTM) and Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna).
The overall standings have Cornejo leading from Kevin Benavides, Sunderland, Brabec, Barreda, Sanders, Howes, Santolini, Quintanilla, and Stefan Svitko (KTM).
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Nine
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+01m18s |
| 3 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+01m34s |
| 4 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+10m11s |
| 5 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+14m19s |
| 9 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+22m39s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Eight)
| 1 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+11m24s |
| 3 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+14m34s |
| 4 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+17m26s |
| 5 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+29m00s |
| 7 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+40m25s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Eight
Honda’s Jose Ignacio Cornejo has taken his first stage win on the 2021 Dakar Rally and has extended his lead to 01m06s in the overall standings from Red Bull KTM’s Toby Price, who took second despite a disintegrating rear tire.
The second half of the Marathon Stage (Stage Eight) saw Chilean Cornejo, second on the road from the start, take over the lead at the 307 km point from Price and stay there until the finish. Third for the stage was Cornejo’s teammate and defending Dakar Champion, Ricky Brabec.
Cornejo’s hitting his stride in Dakar 2021. The Chilean has moved 01m06s clear of Price but will open the road tomorrow.
“The idea was not to win, but it was very difficult to keep the other riders in check behind as they were very far from us,” Cornejo said. “Now, I’ve got a bit of an advantage over the second-placed rider overall but the times are still very tight, so we have to continue with the same concentration. We will try to finish the job well, tomorrow we will try to open as cleanly as we can, and drop as little time as possible.”
Price was a quite remarkable second following his tire issues. The Australian’s rear Michelin suffered a cut on the sidewall at the end of the first half of the Marathon Stage and due to the new rule structure where riders are only allowed six rear tires for the whole event, Price would have incurred a 30-minute time penalty should he change the tire. Thus, Price delved into his bag of tricks, securing the sidewall with zip-ties and duct tape, and incredibly, the tire held together to the finish. Price lost only 01m05s in the ordeal, and is still very much in the running for the 2021 title.
Price’s tire was held together with duct tape and zip ties, but, incredibly, he got it to the stage finish.
“It’s been a really tough couple of days for me,” Price said. “I damaged my tire yesterday and of course, not being allowed to change it, I had to repair it as best I could for today and hope it held up. I rode a good stage, but all the while I was trying to be as smooth as possible – not accelerate too hard in case the issue got worse. Second on the day is not bad at all, I lost a little more time to the rally leader, but I’m just glad I got to the finish line.”
Brabec’s third on stage puts him up to sixth overall, passing Skyler Howes (ninth today) as the lead American.
We did good today, we did good yesterday,” Brabec said. “We opened the whole stage. Nacho caught me around refueling at kilometer 229. The second part of the special was 115 km. Nacho and I rode together and just worked it out with good team work. We went really fast. There’s four days left. It’s the same part of the desert that helped me last year. Hopefully somewhere we can pull out time.”
Another stage podium for Brabec sees the defending champion back in the top six overall.
Fourth for Stage Eight went to KTM’s Sam Sunderland from Honda’s Kevin Benavides in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 was Joan Barreda (Honda), Daniel Sanders (KTM), Matthias Walkner (KTM), Howes, and Sebastian Buhler (Hero).
The overall standings have Cornejo leading from Price, Sunderland, Benavides, Barreda, Brabec, Howes, Sanders, Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) and Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna).
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Eight
| 1 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+01m05s |
| 3 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+02m50s |
| 4 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+03m46s |
| 5 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+05m29s |
| 9 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+06m53s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Eight)
| 1 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+01m06s |
| 3 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+05m57s |
| 4 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+12m58s |
| 5 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+16m05s |
| 6 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+17m42s |
| 7 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+19m20s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Seven
Ricky Brabec has taken his first stage win of the 2021 Dakar Rally (not including his Prologue day win that determines the starting order for Stage One).
The first part of the marathon stage, a 453km (281 miles) test between Ha’il and Sakaka saw leading Monster Energy Honda Team 2021 rider Brabec come home 2m07s ahead of teammate and new Rally leader Jose Ignacio Cornejo, with Skyler Howes taking another top three in third, marking two Americans on the stage podium. Howes sits seventh overall, 12m27s off the lead.
Brabec grabbed a stage win to move up to eighth overall.
“Today I had a good day,” Brabec said, who now moves up to eighth overall, 14m52s from the lead. “I didn’t expect to win the stage but I’ll take it. I started catching Joan (Barreda) by refueling and he was like a one minute ahead. When I caught up, we opened the track together to the finish. I open the track tomorrow with my teammate Nacho who finished second today.”
Red Bull KTM rider Sam Sunderland took fourth on the stage and is now emerging as a real threat for the overall title, the Briton riding a calm and methodical Dakar so far to now sit third in the overall standings, 2m11s off Cornejo.
Fifth for Stage Seven went to leading rookie Daniel Sanders (KTM) as the Australian stretches his overall lead in the rookie standings to over 1h40m.
Erstwhile rally leader Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) finished today’s stage in seventh and now sits only one second behind Cornejo in the overall standings.
Cornejo moves into the lead with a minuscule margin of one second over Toby Price.
The topsy-turvy nature of Dakar 2021 saw a blow dealt to Honda’s Joan Barreda. The Spaniard finished 08m57s off the lead in 14th and nearly four minutes in the overall standings to sit sixth overall at the conclusion of Stage Seven.
The Yamaha factory saw their hopes of a Dakar win dealt a massive blow as lead rider Ross Branch crashed 31 km into the stage and lose over 40 minutes, which drops the Botswanan rider out of the top 10 in 15th overall, 40m57s off Cornejo.
Howes charged to third on the stage and now sits seventh overall.
Rounding out the top 10 for Stage Seven was Frenchman Xavier De Soultrait (Husqvarna), Price, Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero), and Franco Cami (Yamaha).
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Seven
| 1 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+02m07s |
| 3 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+02m19s |
| 4 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+02m52s |
| 5 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+03m14s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Seven)
| 1 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+0m01s |
| 3 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+02m11s |
| 4 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+02m34s |
| 5 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+07m29s |
| 7 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+12m27s |
| 8 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+14m52s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Six
Toby Price has retaken the lead in the 2021 Dakar Rally following a seventh-place finish behind Stage Six winner, Joan Barreda.
After the navigation confusion of Stage Five, race organizers shortened today’s Al Qaisumah-Ha’il test by 100 km to 348 km and Price finished 3m54s behind Spaniard Barreda. The Australian now goes into tomorrow’s rest day 2m16s clear of Kevin Benavides, with his Honda teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo 2m57s adrift.
Price has moved back into the lead heading into the Rest Day.
“Today they cut about 100 km out of the stage and that definitely helped us because it’s still been a really tough day out there,” Price said. “It took a while, but I managed to catch the two guys ahead of me and luckily we were able to keep up a really good pace right at the front. I did have one little get-off that twisted the roadbook tower a little bit but apart from that there were no problems. It feels great to have taken the overall lead, but after such an up and down week the most important thing is we’re fit and in good shape for the second half of the rally.”
A third stage victory in the 2021 Dakar for Joan Barreda has put him back within striking distance of the overall lead (06m25s off Price), although he will once again need to open the road on Stage Seven and could end up losing more time to the leaders.
“I’m very happy with this victory, one more and the third this week,” Barreda said. “The truth is that I would never have imagined it, but the most important thing is that we are physically fit and the bike is perfect. We are looking forward to the second week. Let’s see if we have a bit more luck with the strategy and we can keep up the pace and climb positions.”
Another stage win for Barreda has put him back in contention for the overall title.
Second for Stage Six went to Botswanan Yamaha factory pilot Ross Branch in his best result so far on the 2021 Dakar, with Australian rookie Daniel Sanders continuing his impressive debut with third place—his third top three of the event.
Stage Six was a better one for American Ricky Brabec. The defending Dakar Champion took fourth behind Sanders, 2m24s behind Barreda’s winning pace, and moves up one place to 13th overall.
“We didn’t really make up as much time today as we were thinking or hoping, but it is what it is at the moment,” Brabec said. “There’s still six days to go but it’s going to be really hard. The group is spread far apart, so it’s really hard to manage. I don’t think that anyone has an idea how to manage this thing yet. Things are changing every day, but we can only hope that things turn around.”
Branch continues his impressive run with another second place.
Brabec’s compatriot Skyler Howes (KTM) completed Stage Six in 19th, 12m04s off Barreda, and goes into the rest day ninth in the overall standings, 15m12s adrift of Price but was hit with a six-minute penalty for excessive speed in one of the control zones.
“Another day working it in the dunes,” Howes said via Instagram. “I actually had a pretty decent day. The pace is so high this rally it’s crazy, everyone is racing like it’s the last day, but every day.
Unfortunately today I overcooked a speed zone and got slapped with a big penalty. They put a bunch of speed zones where there used to be camps in this valley. Well, all the camps moved so now there’s just speed zones out there with nothing around. I misread my odometer and thought I was past them all and came into one way too hot and couldn’t get slowed down before getting dinged. My fault, and a dumb error to make. I was kicking myself for the rest of the day and will have to be on my A game for the week to come to stay in the top 10. Everyone is bringing the heat, I’m excited to have made it to rest day to get organized for another week of racing.”
Brabec’s up against it, but he’s not giving up.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Six
| 1 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+0m13s |
| 3 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+0m53s |
| 4 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+02m24s |
| 5 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+03m14s |
| 19 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+12m04s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Six)
| 1 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
|
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
02m16s |
| 3 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+02m57s |
| 4 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+03m41s |
| 5 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+03m41s |
| 9 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+15m12s |
| 13 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+19m56s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Five
Another stage, another leader as Kevin Benavides (Honda) overcame a crash that broke his nose and navigation tower to take the fifth stage victory of Dakar 2021. He becomes the sixth different rider to lead the overall standings this year.
Benavides made the best of the tough navigation of Stage Five to take the win despite a heavy crash that broke his nose.
The Argentinean went into the stage lying third overall and with his one-minute stage win over teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo, takes over the lead from now second-placed Husqvarna Frenchman Xavier De Soultrait, who took sixth today.
Navigation was fraught for many, as clusters of riders began to form around the 456 km (283 miles) Riyadh-Al Qaisumah stage in an effort to find the correct way to the start.
“Today has been a hard day for me,” Benavides said. “It was difficult because of the navigation and also because I suffered a hard fall on a dune. I hit my head hard against the GPS and my ankles also got twisted. It was very painful, but I did not give up, and I kept going in the stage. It was not easy, but I was finally able to win, and I am very happy. Tomorrow, it will be my turn to open the track and I will have to defend myself to make any progress.”
Price took third for the day, putting him as the top KTM and a touch over three minutes from the overall lead.
This for the stage went to Australia’s Toby Price. The two-time Dakar Champion completed the stage 01m20s off Benavides and has moved up to fourth overall in the yo-yoing standings, 02m43s off Benavides.
Fourth overall went to Sherco Factory rider Lorenzo Santolini, 02m29s behind Benavides, with Price’s Red Bull KTM teammate Sam Sunderland fifth, 04m17s off Benavides.
Skyler Howes continued his good form of Dakar 2021 with another top 10 in seventh, the Utah man finishing 10m43s off the lead.
Yesterday’s stage winner, Joan Barreda, lost a lot of time to finish 17th for day, dropping him from second to ninth overall.
It was a disastrous day for defending champion Ricky Brabec, who now lies over 25 minutes from the lead.
Ricky Brabec was one who suffered with navigation on the stage, ending it in 12th place to lie 14th overall, some 25m09s off the leading pace of teammate Benavides.
“Yesterday we had an idea to start at the rear,” Brabec said. “I don’t think that it was a very good idea. Today I lost the way and wasn’t trusting myself, I was second-guessing myself. I fell a little far back. It would have been really easy to follow tracks, but unfortunately, we went into an area that was solid rock and I couldn’t really see the tracks, so it was really tough. I got to one spot and there were six guys sitting around lost and doing circles. From that point, I went on and opened up one waypoint, but couldn’t find the next one after that. I started second-guessing myself and doubting, and those guys were following me. It was just a big catastrophe out there. We lost a lot of time and I didn’t really know what to do. I was thinking, ‘This is it. I just ruined the Dakar’. I feel like maybe the dream has crashed, but there’s still a lot of racing to do. Hopefully, something will turn around and go in our favor. Now we don’t really know what will happen.”
Tomorrow will see the competitors take to Stage Six before the rest day on Saturday.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Five
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+01m00s |
| 3 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+01m20s |
| 4 |
Lorenzo Santolini |
She |
+02m29s |
| 5 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+04m17s |
| 7 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+10m43s |
| 12 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+14m12s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Five)
| 1 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+02m31s |
| 3 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+03m42s |
| 4 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+03m43s |
| 5 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+06m06s |
| 7 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+10m45s |
| 14 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+25m09s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Four
Honda’s Joan Barreda took the glory on Stage Four of the 2021 Dakar Rally, his second stage victory of the event.
The 337km Wadi Ad-Dawasir-Riyadh test saw Barreda in an early fight with KTM’s Toby Price, however, a navigation issue for the Australian saw him lose five minutes and Barreda disappeared into the distance, finishing 06m9s ahead of the ultra-impressive leading rookie, Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM).
Price would slip to 22nd at the stage finish, putting him eighth overall.
Barreda was untouchable on Stage Four, taking the win and moving back into second place overall.
“Today was a very fast stage, just as we were expecting, with less navigation than in previous days,” Barreda said. “I went all out and by the time I reached refueling I saw that I had Ricky close behind and Quintanilla in front, so I kept pressing. I didn’t really know what strategy to follow, but seeing as tomorrow will be a very difficult day because of the sand, we kept the pace high. The truth is that I am very happy and satisfied with another stage victory.”
Third for the stage went to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides in his best result so far in the Rally, with Yamaha’s Ross Branch and Xavier De Soultrait rounding out the stage top five.
The result means De Soultrait becomes the fifth different leader of the 2021 Dakar Rally, as the Frenchman holds a slender 15-second margin in the overall standings from Barreda and Branch, with Honda’s Kevin Benavides now fourth.
Xavier De Soultrait becomes the fifth different leader of the 2021 Dakar Rally after finishing fifth on Stage Four.
KTM privateer Skyler Howes dropped from the overall lead to fifth after Stage Four after taking 20th place.
“Long day in the saddle!” Howes said via Instagram. 813 km (505 miles) and around 10 hours on the bike.
“The stage started out great for me, I had a pretty good rhythm going and caught up to Matthias Walkner. We second-guessed the navigation in a wash and did some circles losing quite a bit of time. After that, we dropped the hammer and tried to make up for the lost time. I had another mishap in the dunes, catching a witch’s eye, and going over the bars. But after that Matthias, Xavier De Soultrait, and I went full gas all the way to the finish.”
Brabec played the waiting game on Stage Four in the hopes of making a charge for the top three on Stage Five.
Defending Dakar Champion Ricky Brabec (Honda) had another tough day in the saddle, the American finishing 18th on the stage, 12m24s behind teammate Barreda. That puts him 15th overall, 16m21s off overall leader De Soultrait.
“We didn’t want to go out and win,” Brabec said. “Someone has got to put a stop to the yoyo effect that we’re having with KTM. I sacked up and I went slow today to try and get in with the rhythm of the main group. So far we are looking pretty good. We are starting tomorrow at the back with the KTM guys. Tomorrow, we’ll have a good push and hopefully, get back to the front. Right now we are just 16 minutes out of the lead. That’s nothing. It’s one day. Hopefully, tomorrow we can make up some time and go into the rest day in the top three.”
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Four (top five)
| 1 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
|
| 2 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+06m09s |
| 3 |
Luciano Benavides |
Hus |
+06m22s |
| 4 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+06m57s |
| 5 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+07m19s |
| 18 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+12m53s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Four)
| 1 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
|
| 2 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+0m15s |
| 3 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+05m24s |
| 4 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+05m24s |
| 5 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+05m26s |
| 15 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+16m21s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Three
Utah’s Skyler Howes has sensationally taken the lead of the 2021 Dakar Rally following a fourth-place finish on today’s Stage Three behind winner, Toby Price.
KTM privateer Howes finished 6m16s behind factory Red Bull KTM rider Price and now sits 33 seconds in front in the overall standings from Honda’s Kevin Benavides, with Husqvarna’s Xavier De Soultrait third overall, 1m28s off Howes.
Stage Three was a high point in Skyer Howes’ career as the Utah resident took the lead of the 2021 Dakar Rally following a fourth-place finish.
“[It] was a good day today!” Howes said via his Instagram page. “[I] Found the flow early on in the dunes and when things opened up I felt right at home. The sandy tracks through the canyons and the rocky passes were really fun. I was just having a good time. [I] caught up to a handful of guys in front of me and had an all-out battle to the finish!
“Honestly, I’m just having a lot of fun and I’m feeling comfortable on the bike. I’ll take every day as it comes and tackle each challenge as best as I can. After all, [I’m] just a dude from Utah riding a dirt bike in Saudi Arabia, gotta have fun with it!”
Price’s stage victory has hoisted him back into the top four after dropping to 15th following Stage Two. However, the Australian will once again have to open the road for tomorrow’s Stage Four, meaning he’s in the box seat to lose more time as his competitors follow his wheel tracks.
Today’s 403 km loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir saw Benavides and Price battling it out at the front, with Argentinian Benavides holding sway for the first half of the day, eeking out a one minute lead by the 183 km mark.
Toby Price charged on, taking his second stage win of the rally to move back into the top four. He’ll open the road tomorrow.
Price responded for the remaining stage kilometers and would finish 1m13s clear at the flag for his second stage win of 2021 and the 13th of his Dakar career.
“Everything went well today—no crashes, the bike has been good, and I was able to find a good rhythm,” Price said. “It’s great to win another stage, but it’s a bit like a yoyo at the moment—it’s difficult to lead a stage out from the front as you can lose a lot of time, and then you have to push hard the next day to make it all up again. Hopefully one day we’ll catch a bit of a break, the navigation won’t be too tough, and I can stretch things out from the front. Right now, every day is crucial, and I think if it carries on like this, with everyone staying fit and their bikes working good, the battle for the win is going to go down to the very last day.”
Ricky Brabec had a tough day, losing 21m39s to Price and falling to 13th on the overall leaderboard.
It was a better stage for Price’s KTM teammates, with Matthias Walkner finishing third after losing more than two hours with a clutch problem on Stage Two. Sam Sunderland also finished in the top five in fifth, ensuring four KTM’s in the top five.
Honda’s Ricky Brabec finished 21m39s off Price, dropping the American defending Dakar Champion from second overall to 13th, 12m15s off Howes. Brabec’s Honda teammate, Joan Barreda, suffered heavily on Stage Three, finishing 24m49s off Price in 30th and goes from leading the Rally to eighth overall, 09m02s behind Howes.
Rounding out the top 10 on Stage Three was De Soultrait, Franco Cami (Yamaha), leading rookie Daniel Sanders (KTM), Rui Goncalves (Sherco), and Jose Ignacio Cornejo (Honda).
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Three
| 1 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
|
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+01m16s |
| 3 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+02m36s |
| 4 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+06m16s |
| 5 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+08m24s |
| 25 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+21m39s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Three)
| 1 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
|
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+0m33s |
| 3 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+01m28s |
| 4 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
+01m52s |
| 5 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+05m27s |
| 13 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+12m15s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Two
Honda’s Joan Barreda has taken the lead in the 2021 Dakar Rally following his 25th career stage victory in the second leg of the event.
Barreda led the entire 457 km (283.9-mile) stage from Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, ending it 3m55s ahead of 2020 Dakar Champion and Monster Energy Honda Team 2021 teammate Ricky Brabec, with Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla third for the day, 06m02s off Barreda’s scorching pace. Yamaha’s Ross Branch and Barreda’s second teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo completed the top five.
Barreda’s 25th career stage win now puts him in the overall lead of the 2021 Dakar Rally.
“It was a very good stage,” Barreda said. “We were forced to attack from the very first kilometer until the end and the truth is that it went well. But this is only the second stage of the Dakar and we know that tomorrow it will be difficult starting from the front once again. You have to stay calm, try not to make any mistakes, and take it stage-by-stage.”
The Red Bull KTM Factory Team had a rough Stage Two. Toby Price went into the stage leading the rally following his victory on Stage One, but struggled in the sand dunes and suffered fueling problems on his KTM to finish 32 minutes behind Barreda at the stage’s conclusion in 28th position, and dropped to 15th overall, 17m39s off new leader Barreda.
Brabec turned the tables from a rough first stage to be back in the top two following Stage Two.
Price’s teammates Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner both struggled, with Briton Sunderland losing 23 minutes to be 12th in the standings, 12m50s off Barreda. It was much worse for Austrian Walkner, with a clutch problem ensuring he lost 2h15m, dropping him to 46th in the rally and all but ending his hopes of a second Dakar title.
It was a horror day for Yamaha’s Andrew Short, as the American became the first retirement of the rally following an unrepairable mechanical problem just past the halfway point of the stage.
Price had a day to forget, finishing 32 minutes behind Barreda in 28th position.
“For sure it’s disappointing to end the rally like this as I had a really good stage going,” Short said. “I felt awesome on the bike and things were going well. With Dakar only happening once a year, it’s frustrating to go out like this but I’ll be back next year. I’m thankful to be healthy but sad at the same time as it’s a race that we all work hard towards all year round, but it’s how racing goes sometimes. All the best to my team-mates, it’s going to be a tough race this year.”
Short’s American compatriot Skyler Howes took another solid stage result in 11th, 14m15s off Barreda, and now lies eighth overall, 09m31s off the lead.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage Two (top five)
| 1 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
04h17m56s |
| 2 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+03m55s |
| 3 |
Pablo Quintanilla |
Hus |
+06m02s |
| 4 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+11m54s |
| 5 |
Jose Ignacio Cornejo |
Hon |
+12m06s |
| 11 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+18m01s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage Two)
| 1 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
08h15m38s |
| 2 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+06m23s |
| 3 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+06m37s |
| 4 |
Pablo Quintanilla |
Hus |
+07m16s |
| 5 |
Xavier De Soultrait |
Hus |
+08m25s |
| 8 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+09m31s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage One
Former two-time Dakar Champion Toby Price roared into the lead of the 2021 Dakar, claiming a 31-second stage victory from Jeddah to Bisha over Honda’s Kevin Benavides and Red Bull Factory KTM teammate, Matthias Walkner.
It was a terrible first official stage of the rally for defending champion Ricky Brabec, the American getting lost early in the 277 km (172 miles) stage, as he dropped over 13 minutes in the opening 37 km (23 miles).
The result was a 24th position on the stage, dropping him to a substantial 18m 32s behind overall leader Price.
Price’s stage win now sees him 23 seconds clear of Benavides in the overall standings, and the Australian knows it’s still early days in the 2021 Dakar.
Price rode into the lead of the 2021 Dakar Rally following his 31-second stage victory over Kevin Benavides.
“Overall, the day has gone well,” said Price. “Navigation was certainly tricky today—it was hard to find the right pistes and valleys and annoyingly I managed to get lost a little bit on the last few kilometers to the finish. Other than a few other little mistakes, the rest of the stage was good. I’m happy with how I looked after the bike and the tires because with the new rules we really have to be careful. Looking ahead at the whole race, I think there are going to be some big swings in the standings—the plan is to try and stay consistent and not lose too much time. I’m opening tomorrow so hopefully, I won’t make too many big mistakes and we can keep this momentum going.”
Brabec’s day did not go to plan, as the American dropped to 24th following his navigation troubles.
Fourth in the first stage went to 2017 Dakar winner, Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco Factory) putting in a solid ride to finish 4m23s off Price.
For Brabec, he remains optimistic knowing there as still 11 stages to go in the 2021 Dakar.
“Stage one was difficult to navigate. It wasn’t fast. There were tons of rocks and slower speeds. I was trying to manage the rear tire as we have to go more than one day on this tire. I wasn’t sure of the speed and some of the other guys were on the gas a little bit harder. Hopefully in the end it’ll all pay off but, as of now, it’s only the first day and we have eleven left. Tomorrow we’ll start a bit further back with sand dunes and sand piste. Hopefully, we can push up and make some time back.”
Fellow American Skyler Howes (BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team) took an encouraging eighth on Stage One, with compatriot Andrew Short (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) claiming 12th. Howes sits eighth in the overall standings while Short is 10th.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Stage One (top five)
| 1 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
3h18m26s |
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+31s |
| 3 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+32s |
| 4 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+02m03s |
| 5 |
Lorenzo Santolino |
She |
+04m23s |
| 8 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+05m25s |
| 12 |
Andrew Short (USA) |
Hus |
+08m10s |
| 24 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
KTM |
+18m32s |
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Overall (Stage One)
| 1 |
Toby Price |
KTM |
03h43m58s |
| 2 |
Kevin Benavides |
Hon |
+23s |
| 3 |
Matthias Walkner |
KTM |
+01m12s |
| 4 |
Sam Sunderland |
KTM |
+04m11s |
| 5 |
Lorenzo Santolino |
She |
+04m59s |
| 8 |
Skyler Howes (USA) |
KTM |
+05m45s |
| 10 |
Andrew Short (USA) |
Hus |
+08m30s |
| 24 |
Ricky Brabec (USA) |
Hon |
+17m04s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Prologue Day
Defending Dakar Champion Ricky Brabec took the top spot in the first timed stage during the 2021 Dakar Rally, ending the Prologue Day six seconds clear of Monster Energy Honda Team 2021 teammate Joan Barreda.
The stage was only 11 km (6.8 miles), yet Brabec made his intentions of being the first American back-to-back Dakar winner crystal clear by crossing the finishing line with a time of 6m01s. Dakar debutant, Australian Daniel Sanders (KTM Factory Team), impressed everyone by posting the third-fastest time, 13 seconds behind Brabec.
Brabec topped the Prologue Day as he attempts to become the first American to win back-to-back Dakar titles.
“Today was good. Pretty short – just a 10-kilometer prologue. Nothing to really lose or nothing to gain. Just enough to shake the bugs out of the bike and the body,” Brabec said. “We’re now ready for the actual start. Tomorrow we start nice and early. We came away with first and second place in the prologue for me and Joan. So tomorrow Joan and I will open the way and hopefully, it will go well. It’s a long race but I think strategy will start to play in, but as of now, it’s time to get lunch, get the gear off, and time to focus.”
Fourth for the Prologue Day went to Ross Branch (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team), the rider who sensationally won a stage on the 2020 Dakar to become the first stage winner from his country of Botswana. Fifth was Sebastian Bühler, the German/Portuguese Hero Motosports Team Rally pilot ending the stage 16 seconds off Brabec.
Rounding out the top 10 was Andrew Short (Monster Energy Yamaha, +17 seconds to Brabec), Kevin Benavides (Monster Energy Honda Team 2021, +20 seconds to Brabec), Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, +22 seconds to Brabec), two-time winner Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, +22 seconds to Brabec), and Joaquim Rodrigues (Hero Motosports Team Rally, +23 seconds to Brabec).
The remaining American in the 2021 Dakar Rally, Skyler Howes (BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team) was 13th, 27 seconds from Brabec.
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results—Prologue Day (top five)
| 1 |
Ricky Brabec |
Hon |
06m01s |
| 2 |
Joan Barreda |
Hon |
+06s |
| 3 |
Daniel Sanders |
KTM |
+13s |
| 4 |
Ross Branch |
Yam |
+14s |
| 5 |
Sebastian Bühler |
Her |
+16s |
Full stage and general ranking results can be found here
2021 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Previews
Ricky Brabec became the first American to win the Dakar Rally when he stood on top of the podium in 2020. He will be back to defend his title in 2021.
Ricky Brabec became the first American to win the prestigious Dakar Rally in 2020. The HRC Honda factory rider came back from a bitter disappointment of losing the 2019 Dakar Rally due to a mechanical issue on the eighth stage of the ten-stage race while holding a significant lead. Monster Energy released the video below recapping Brabec’s climb to the top of the Dakar.
The Dakar organizers provided this excellent video outlining all the details on the 2021 Dakar Rally. For the second time, the Dakar Rally will take place in Saudi Arabia and the racers will cover 4,767 kilometers of special test and over 7,600 total kilometers of race course in total. The competitors will complete a short ten-kilometer prologue on January 2nd. Stage one will take place on January 3rd and they will complete twelve stages wrapping up on January 15th. Check out the educational video below.
Looking for the top riders to watch in 2021, check out the preview articles from several of the top teams below:
Monster Energy Honda 2021 Dakar Team.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2021 Dakar Rally Preview.
GasGas 2021 Dakar Rally team.
Visit the Dakar Rally site here.
You can get all the latest Rally Racing news and information from Cycle News here.
