01/17/26 10:47:00
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01/17 10:45 CST Benavides rides to smallest Dakar Rally win margin and
Al-Attiyah confirms sixth car title
Benavides rides to smallest Dakar Rally win margin and Al-Attiyah confirms
sixth car title
YANBU, Saudi Arabia (AP) --- Luciano Benavides exploited a navigation blunder
by Ricky Brabec minutes from the finish of the Dakar Rally to sensationally win
the motorbike title on Saturday by two seconds --- the smallest margin ever.
Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Attiyah safely secured his sixth car title on the 13th and
final stage, a flat-out 105-kilometer sprint along the Red Sea coast to Yanbu.
Brabec was hurtling toward his third Dakar victory. While Benavides' KTM was
faster in real time, Brabec's Honda was collecting time bonuses for opening the
way and extending his overnight lead of 3 minutes, 20 seconds.
Then seven kilometers from the finish Brabec took a wrong turn. Benavides
didn't. He saw a headlight turn around and slowed to see who it was. When he
realized it was Brabec, Benavides knew the "almost impossible" was possible.
"I saw the opportunity and I took it," he said. "I felt ready all day. I told
everyone at the start of the stage ?This Dakar is for me.'"
Benavides finished second on the stage to teammate Edgar Canet, who won his
third stage of this Dakar. When Brabec arrived 3:22 behind Benavides, the
Argentine's team lifted him on their shoulders and shouted "Lu-chan-oh,
Lu-chan-oh."
"It's unreal," Benavides said. "Two seconds after two weeks and almost 8,000
kilometers is something that is hard to understand."
The previous closest margin was 43 seconds by Luciano's older brother Kevin.
That was another stunning comeback. Kevin started the 2023 final stage 12
seconds behind and won his second motorbike title.
Brabec's Honda teammate Tosha Schareina was a distant third after coming second
last year.
Luciano started his ninth Dakar never having reached the podium and just three
months after tearing knee ligaments in the Moroccan Rally.
Even after he started the second week with consecutive stage wins, he rode in
the shadow of teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders, who was
dominating the race until he crashed on Wednesday and broke his collarbone and
sternum. Sanders continued practically riding one-handed and finished fifth for
valuable points in the defense of his world rally-raid title.
Brabec won Friday's stage to gather an overall lead that even Benavides thought
"was mathematically almost impossible" to overcome.
But, he said, "I never stopped believing. For me there was no strategy any
days, I just give my best. I never tried to slow down. I feel bad for Ricky. He
did a mistake and (it) cost (him) the Dakar."
No. 6 for Al-Attiyah
Al-Attiyah confirmed his sixth car title --- two behind the record of former
teammate Stphane Peterhansel -- and first for Dacia after a cautious final
drive, nearly nine minutes behind Mattias Ekstrm, who won his car-leading
fourth stage.
Nani Roma could hack only six minutes off the overall leader's pace and
Al-Attiyah ultimately beat Roma by 9:42, easily the lowest margin of his six
victories.
Al-Attiyah has won for four different manufacturers in 2011 and 2015 in
Argentina, in 2019 in Peru and in 2022, 2023 and this year in Saudi Arabia.
"I still need to beat Peterhansel's record," he said.
Al-Attiyah and Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin both made their Dakar debut in
2004 and remember joking then that they would pair up one day. That happened
only six months ago. Luquin, a former airline pilot, followed his father
Jean-Marie into the Dakar and has surpassed him with his first Dakar win.
The Qatar-Belgium duo made the decisive move on Wednesday, regaining the lead
by 12 minutes in the second half of a marathon stage. In the context of the
closest race in more than two decades, the margin was massive.
"It's amazing to win," Al-Attiyah said. "I might not be showing much emotion
but it's in my heart. We are so happy and thankful."
Roma, the 2014 car champion, earned his first podium finish since 2019.
Ekstrm's Ford held off Sbastien Loeb's Dacia by 37 seconds for consecutive
third-place finishes. Loeb finished and failed to podium for the first time in
10 years.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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