Dakar | Moto, Stage 11: Branch tries, but Brabec claims victory

Ross Branch tried and did everything in his power, but it almost certainly won't be enough to bring home his first Touareg trophy. Entering almost 11 minutes late into the penultimate stage, which with 420 timed kilometers led from Al-Ula to Yanbu, the Hero rider could only attack and hope that something would go wrong for overall moto leader Ricky Brabec.

The Botswana rider led the special stage practically from start to finish, achieving his second success in this edition, but in the end he only managed to eke out 32″ of his rival from Honda. In the overall, therefore, he still travels with 10'22 ” late. Too much, if you consider that tomorrow there will be just 175 kilometers of the special. Therefore, only a technical problem seems to be able to deprive the Californian of what would be his second success in the Dakar after the one in 2020.

To tell the truth, if you look only at the special, Branch had more than halved the gap, because he had trailed Brabec by 6'17″. Having won yesterday's stage, however, the Honda standard bearer was called to open today the track, so at the finish line he was given a bonus of 5'45″, which took him up to second place in today's rankings, allowing his direct pursuer to gain only a handful of seconds from him.

If nothing else, the Hero standard bearer managed to consolidate his place of honor, because it is true that Adrien van Beveren was also the protagonist of a very good stage, finishing third at 3'17″. But it is equally true that but tomorrow the Frenchman from Honda should gain more than four minutes from him to take second place overall in the general classification.

Today, however, the person who definitively said goodbye to the possibility of getting on the podium is Nacho Cornejo and it's a shame because perhaps he would have deserved it, being the one who won the most special stages in this edition, three to be precise. The Chilean suffered a problem with the fuel pump in the front tank of his Honda, so he was forced to stop to dismantle it and pour the fuel into the rear one. At the end of the special he therefore paid 25'28″ and although he remained fourth overall, he is now at 38'44″.

Indeed, rather than attacking the podium he risks having to watch his back from Kevin Benavides, who is still the best among the KTM riders with his fifth position in the general and less than three minutes behind him. The winner of the last edition, therefore, will abdicate the throne and even today his special was not flawless, given that he finished seventh at 9'08″. His teammate Toby Price did better than him, fifth at 6'31 “, which took a toll on him in the overall, in which he is now sixth at 47'59”.

Behind him, Luciano Benavides consolidated seventh place, with the Husqvarna world champion setting the fourth time of the day at 4'38″, while Daniel Sanders only placed eighth at 12'23″ with his GasGas. In the general, therefore, they will enter the last special stage separated by over a quarter of an hour. Completing the top 10 are the veteran Stefan Svitko, very close to completing his 11th Dakar in 15 appearances, and Martin Michek, both however much further behind.

Dakar 2024 | General Moto ranking after Stage 11