Ricky Brabec Leads Dakar

2026 Dakar Rally Results: Stage 12 – Decisive penultimate day win for Ricky Brabec

2026 Dakar Rally stage 12 results – Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec eyes a third Tuareg Trophy with decisive penultimate stage win ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Luciano Benavides setting up final day showdown.

Dakar 2026 Stage 12 summed up:

The best bit of the Dakar must be the bit where it all comes down to virtually nothing and the leading riders are giving it everything, surely?

This year’s race has had many ups and downs in the nearly 8000 kilometres ridden so far. The many twists and turns on this snaking, 311 kilometre timed special ran through very mixed terrain including dunes, wide-open desert, canyons and dried riverbeds and posed a tricky penultimate test.

Straight dogfight 

The two riders in it to win it started fourth and sixth today, meaning Luciano Benavides and Ricky Brabec both had lines in front to use as guides, hares to chase across the sand.

Starting from fourth place, overnight leader Benavides did everything he could. The KTM rider quickly overtook the three riders in front – teammate Edgar Canet, plus Honda pairing Adrien Van Beveren and Skyler Howes – which meant he’d gained nine minutes right there and the Argentine started gathering bonus time racing away out front.

After his bold gamble yesterday to stop on the stage in order to start further back today, Brabec was also gobbling up the riders in front but from two places and six minutes further back than Benavides.

Refuelling point hammers it home

At the refuelling points each day riders get a chance to calculate how they are doing in relation to who’s there, and who arrives behind them at what time intervals. For Benavides to find Brabec within two minutes of him at 223km and with under 100 to go, it was a reality time check.

Benavides had no choice but to go full gas to the finish, try to pull away and amass bonus time and not let Brabec catch him. The American had to knuckle down and keep chasing, knowing the Argentine was pushing. It was a 90km special test.

 

Crucial stage win for Brabec

The outcome was Benavides clocked 2:05 in bonuses which helped reduce the deficit but Brabec wins the stage by 3:43, proving the strategy to stop yesterday was a bold but smart one giving the two-time winner a 3:20 overall lead and a third Dakar title in sight.

Say what?

Ricky Brabec: “I don’t know if my strategy was all that good. I got to push all day but Luciano is riding really great. I tried all day to make up time and do my best job but he caught up to the leaders and was able to get bonus early on. I know he started six minutes ahead of me and I finish just behind him on the stage so I made up physical time. Tomorrow’s supposed to be easier they say and if I open and do a good job I should get a minute and a half of bonus time so we’ll see what happens.”

Luciano Benavides: “It was a tough day but I tried my best. I was pushing from the beginning and I passed Edgar quite early and from kilometre 150 was the one opening the stage. Not an easy stage to open so we lose a little bit of time but I’m happy I gave 100%. We keep the hope alive until the last kilometre.”

“It will not be decided until the last day”

Luciano Benavides said two days ago that it will come down to the last day and he was right. He looked deflated at the finish today, while Brabec looked a little cautious about any suggestion he had it in the bag.

Three minutes 43 seconds sounds easily enough to take the win, doesn’t it? It should be but the question marks are there: can Ricky lead the final 100km special test tomorrow without mistakes? Can he amass important bonus time in the process to counter any gain Benavides has? Can Benavides close down the three minutes he’ll have off the start in such a short distance?

The Argentine need look no further than his brother Kevin for inspiration to keep it pinned until the last ASS. K-Ben nicked the 2023 race win from Toby Price in the last stage after the Australian made a minor mistake. It can happen. May the best man win.

Hey, everyone else, where are you?

Why are there such huge gaps behind the top two on today’s stage? Answers ranged from making mistakes, crashing, wanting to make sure they reach the finish and nursing bikes but essentially it boils down to the leading two riders were prepared to risk more and are riding better – that’s why they are the two at the top.

The best of the rest today was Tosha Schareina finishing a rather large 13 minutes down on his teammate Brabec. We guess he has settled for third place on the podium by now.

Behind him Honda teammate Adrien Van Beveren claimed fourth, still aiming for a top five overall with Rally2 class best placed rider, Michael Docherty, fifth scratch today.

Skyler Howes took a career first Dakar stage win yesterday but was off the pace today, 24 minutes off in fact, which was surprising but not if you consider he roide half hte stage with oil leaking out his Honda engine: “There is no oil left in this engine so I am very, very surprised I made it to the finish line, it’s a miracle.”

The American takes fourth away from the injured Daniel Sanders by just 10 seconds. Meanwhile Sanders finished 15th, 35 minutes behind riding with a broken collarbone and sternum.