Stage 12 Dakar

2021 Dakar Rally, Stage 12

By

Zac Kurylyk

Kevin Benavides finished second on Stage 12, the final leg of the 2021 Dakar Rally. That was good enough to earn him the overall win, Honda’s second championship in a row.

It’s the well-deserved result of years of hard work and loyalty for the big Argentinian rider. Benavides started with the Honda team back in 2016, when their Dakar bikes had iffy reliability. He quickly proved to be a promising rider and a team player, earning second overall in 2018. Now, he’s the champ, after racing a careful 2021 rally. He even managed to break his nose in one of the earlier stages, and he’s been pounding out consistent results anyway.

Benavides’ teammate Ricky Brabec, the 2020 champion, was first on the stage and finished second overall. It was easy to see the disappointment in his comments, but Brabec still battled back from a massive navigation error on the race’s first day, and kept within striking distance of the win.

 

Sam Sunderland was unable to make up the time to win the overall lead. Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Sam Sunderland, the highest-ranked KTM rider, finished third overall, losing any chance at the title when he finished 11th on the stage due to a series of mistakes. His teammate Matthias Walkner was third on the stage; Walkner’s clutch trouble early in the race set him far back in the pack, and he thought he’d lost any chance at contention, so he (understandably) let off on the gas a bit.

Still, he finished ninth overall, which shows how bad the factory teams suffered from injuries and breakdowns this year. Honda lost two stud riders, KTM lost Price, Husqvarna lost Luciano Benavides, and the Yamaha factory squad was wiped out, with Adrien Van Beveren on the withdrawal list today.

It’s got to be an incredibly embarrassing situation for the Yamaha team, as every one of its riders was forced out due to breakdown. Andrew Short’s issue (bad fuel supplied by the rally organizers) is understandable, but to also have Franco Caimi, Jamie McCanney, Ross Branch and Van Beveren forced out with mechanicals is a very bad look. Especially with Van Beveren leaving on the final stage, after changing the engine only a couple of days back.

Instead of Yamaha, there are a few privateers in the top 10 now. Stefan Svitko, Skyler Howes and Martin Michek all rode KTM-based bikes to top-10s. Hopefully that results in a factory ride for Howes in 2021, as he proved very reliable this year, as he was last year. Maybe Honda will have a spot for him, if Joan Barreda retires?

Dakar Rally Stage 11

Ricky Brabec falls to third, takes shot at KTM amid refueling drama!

By Dan BeaverJan

Ricky Brabec Instagram

Team Honda’s Ricky Brabec lost six minutes to the overall leader Kevin Benavides in Stage 11 of the Dakar Rally and was passed by Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland for second overall. Brabec will need a perfect final stage if he is going to win his second consecutive Dakar, after being the first American to win it last year.

But as he crossed the line at the end of the stage, drama unfolded.

Suffering from the effects of a fall two days earlier, Honda teammate Joan Barreda missed a refueling point at 174 kilometers. That would have incurred a penalty for the Spanish rider who was on his way to a best-ever Dakar finish. But it was only the tip of the iceberg.

“I wasn’t feeling well again this morning,” Barreda said in a release, who finished Stage 10 in second. “I don’t know if it’s because of the crash I had two days ago, I was a bit dizzy. So I ended up missing the refueling point, and I didn’t stop. Ultimately it was my mistake.”

Eventually, Barreda ran out of fuel. After a medical check, he ended the day in a local hospital.

Brabec wasn’t buying that Barreda missed the refueling station unintentionally.

“They think that it was a strategy for Joan to go ahead and skip refueling,” Brabec said. “But you know what, they’re talking crap behind our back, and I’m not OK with that. They want to play that game, then we’re going to play. Hopefully tomorrow we can clinch a podium spot, that’s about it.”

KTM’s Matthias Walkner later apologized to Honda.

Sunderland won Stage 11 and closed to within 4 minutes, 12 seconds of Benavides. It was the first stage win this year for Sunderland.

“Today I knew this was one of the last chances I had to win this race and give my all,” Sunderland said. “I ran out of water with 60ks to go and was riding like hell in the dunes. I made a few navigation mistakes but no regrets. I gave my all.”

Brabec fell to third overall, 7 minutes and 13 seconds back.

Once again, blazing the trail by being first out after the Stage 10 victory was not a winning formula as Brabec wrote in an Instagram post that he was expecting to lose time with the competition starting behind him.

“I’m fortunate to have rode really well (in Stage 10) and very unfortunate to open today,” Brabec said. “It was a tough one. We’ll do our best and stay focused. Tomorrow we’re gonna ride our ass off.”

Having lost nearly 13 minutes to the leader on Thursday, he knows anything can happen on Friday. “Today is said and done, tomorrow let’s make a final push and after a bit of drama from the orange brigade boys were fired up on this one,” he posted on IG.

One day after his Honda teammate Nacho Canejo was forced to retire, it was Barreda’s turn. He entered the stage fourth in the overall ranking, 15 minutes, 40 seconds behind the leader.

“I’m sorry, folks. I’m in the hospital performing a head scan,” Barreda said on Instagram. “The fall of two days ago when I lost consciousness for a few minutes has been billed to me today.

“I was really looking forward to continuing in the race and finishing my best, but it couldn’t have been.”

American privateer Skyler Howes started fourth after a strong Stage 10. Thursday was not as kind. Howes got stuck in a hole in the desert and lost considerable time getting back under way.

“This last bit in the dunes, I came over one wrong, just too far to the right, ended up in a hole and got completely stuck,” said Howes, who finished 25 minutes, 53 seconds behind Sunderland. “I tried to get out for a long, long time and wasted a lot of energy doing it. Really frustrating day, especially this close to the end. Was really hoping not to lose any time but lost quite a bit.”

Riding Makes You Smile At Any Age

Lucas Oil 2021 Pro MotoCross Schedule

The 2021 schedule for the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship was unveiled Tuesday with 12 rounds beginning May 29 at Fox Raceway in Pala, California.

Series officials are expecting fans at every event this season, which will feature an increase from three races over a 2020 season that started three months late and was disrupted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Though the 2021 motocross season still will be impacted by the pandemic, the series will return to many of its iconic venues that were skipped last year, such as High Point Raceway, The Wick 338, Washougal MX Park, Unadilla MX, and Budds Creek Motocross Park.

Motocross also will return to Hangtown, the oldest event in pro motocross, for its Sept. 11 season finale.

The season will begin three weeks after the Supercross season, which will start Saturday in Houston.

“The 2021 schedule has been developed through a collective effort alongside all of our event organizers, and we’re thrilled to see such legendary venues back on the calendar,” Roy Janson, managing director at MX Sports Pro Racing, said in a release. “The outlook surrounding the fight to eradicate COVID-19 has provided a sense of optimism amongst our group, which has us hopeful to welcome spectators at all the races while also allowing nearly every one of our events to remain on their traditional dates.

“Safety remains paramount in our efforts to host a successful season and we will continuously monitor all national, state, and local guidelines in an effort to ensure the well-being of our fans, competitors, and series personnel. While that may require some level of restriction or limited capacity, it will be in the best interest of all parties.”

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2021 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross schedule

May 29 — Fox Raceway National (Pala, California

June 5 — Thunder Valley National (Lakewood, Colorado)

June 19 — High Point National (Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania)

June 26 — Southwick National (Southwick, Massachusetts)

July 3 — RedBud National (Buchanan, Michigan)

July 17 — Spring Creek National (Millville, Minnesota)

July 24 — Washougal Naitonal (Washougal, Washington)

Aug. 14 — Unadilla National (New Berlin, New York)

Aug. 21 — Budds Creek National (Mechanicsville, Indiana)

Aug. 28 — Ironman National (Crawfordsville, Indiana)

Sept. 4 — Pala National (Pala, California)

Sept. 11 — Hangtown National (Sacramento, California)

Dakar Stage 9

Dakar 2021, Stage 9: Cornejo lead grows after Price exit

By:

Jamie Klein

Jan 12, 2021, 11:41 AM

Honda rider Jose Ignacio Cornejo took a step towards victory in the 2021 Dakar Rally's bikes class as he opened up a lead of more than 10 minutes in the wake of Toby Price's crash on the ninth stage.

Cornejo entered Tuesday's 465km loop around Neom with one minute and six seconds in hand over KTM rider Price, having taken his first win of the rally on Monday.

Despite opening the road, Chilean came close to making it back-to-back successes, leading at the 198km point before losing ground to Honda teammate Kevin Benavides.

He eventually finished 1m34s behind Benavides, who notched up a second stage victory of the 2021 edition as the lead pair finished 13 minutes clear of the opposition.

Following the retirements of Price and Husqvarna rider Luciano Benavides due to crashes, and Ricky Brabec (Honda) and Sam Sunderland (KTM) both losing around 15 minutes to tend to the injured Price, Adrian van Beveren was third-fastest for Yamaha.

Matthias Walkner (KTM) and Joan Barreda (Honda) completed the top five on the stage provisionally, but with both Brabec and Sunderland both set to gain time back.

As things stand, Cornejo is now 11 minutes and 24 seconds clear of Benavides at the head of the general classification with three stages left to run, giving him by some distance the largest lead any rider has enjoyed of the rally so far.

Barreda has moved up to a provisional third, exactly 29 minutes back, but is set to fall behind Sunderland and Brabec once the times are finalised.

KTM rookie Daniel Sanders is likely to be sixth overall ahead of privateer Skyler Howes (KTM) and Sherco rider Lorenzo Santolino.

Yamaha's miserable luck continued as Ross Branch - already outside of the top 10 owing to his earlier problems - was forced out of the event with engine trouble, leaving van Beveren as the manufacturer's sole remaining factory representative in ninth.

Joel Robert History

If you want to see more pictures and a history of Joel's life go to this site www.motocrossactionmag.com

RIP Joel Robert

Very sad day for moto fans. Six time world champion Joel Robert has passed after fighting health problems for several years. He was 77. This picture is one I always remember from my early days riding moto, I could never understand how he stayed on his bike in this turn. Joel had style and personality that was admired worldwide by moto fans. He was one of the reasons I bought my first Suzuki RM back in the 70's.

Here is the announcement from MXVice

Lewis PhillipsJanuary 13, 20210

MX Vice is deeply saddened to learn that Joel Robert has passed away, following a fight with coronavirus. The six-time world champion (1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972) was just 77 years old. Robert had a massive impact on motocross in his native Belgium, as well as outside of those borders, and that impact will undoubtedly be felt for many years to come.

Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Words: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: Supplied

Dakar Legend Hubert Auriol ...RIP

French Dakar Rally legend Hubert Auriol has sadly passed away at the age of 68 in hospital, it is reported due to the effects of Covid-19.

The word legend is often wafted about but in the case of Hubert Auriol in the sport of rally it was certainly true. Auriol won the Dakar Rally three-times – twice on motorcycles, in 1981 and 1983, when the bikes and the rally itself were seemingly of another world.

When Hubert won the 1992 Dakar in a car he became the first competitor to take victory on two and four wheels setting a precedent many have tried and failed to replicate since. Only Stephane Peterhansel and Nani Roma have matched it so far in all these years.

Auriol went on to be Dakar race director for almost a decade from the mid-1990s, be one of the founders of the Africa Eco Race and was also a television presenter. Remarkably in 1987 he also set a record for the fastest circumnavigation of the earth in a propeller airplane as part of a four-person team (in 88 hours, 49 minutes).

Dakar Rally, Stage 7...Brabec Takes Win

Dan Beaver   4 hrs ago

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 Ricky Brabec scores first stage win; Skyler Howes finishes third

© Franck Fife/Getty Images

As the Dakar Rally enters its second half, Ricky Brabec scored his first win in Stage 7. Based on his experience in the first six stages, that is not the position he wanted, however.

Navigation has been cited as an issue in each stage of the 2021 Dakar Rally, which leaves Brabec and the other competitors playing a game of cat and mouse.

“I think the strategy is to not open!” Brabec said in a release after completing the stage. “I think everyone that’s opening is just losing a little bit of time. So we’re trying our best. We just have to stay focused.”

“There’s five days left, and we’re going to try just to finish in the top seven every day and see if we can make up a little bit of time.”

Rally Bike?

Andrew Short shows how to moto a rally bike.

See more at www.upshiftmagazine.com