Carlos Sainz hands Audi its first Dakar Rally title; Honda’s Ricky Brabec defeats Hero’s Ross Branch to win bikes title.
Carlos Sainz has clinched Audi’s first-ever win at the Dakar Rally with the electrified RS Q e-tron. This is the Spaniard’s fourth Dakar triumph and he’s secured all of his titles with different manufacturers; his previous Dakar wins were with Volkswagen, Peuegot and Mini.
Honda’s Ricky Brabec also picked up his second Dakar title in the bikes category. This year’s edition saw competitors cover more than 7,800km across two weeks in the Saudi Arabian desert.
1. Audi secures first Dakar win
2. India’s Hero MotoSports on podium
3. Harith Noah wins in Rally 2 class
Carlos Sainz secures fourth Dakar Rally win
Despite not winning a single stage this year, Sainz’ consistent performance saw him avoid any major mishaps while his closest rivals faltered. Nasser Al-Attiyah, who switched from Toyota to Prodrive this year, retired on Stage 8 after an engine breakdown. This left Sebastien Loeb as Sainz’s chief rival; the nine-time world rally champion even slashed Sainz’s lead to just five minutes at one point. But he lost a chunk of time due to a navigation error and was out of the fight for victory after hitting a rock and damaging his car’s suspension on the penultimate stage.
Moreover, Sainz also had his teammates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel assisting him in his bid for victory. He crossed the finish line 1 hour 20.25 mins ahead of second-placed Guillaume de Mevius. Loeb is third overall, another five minutes behind, despite winning five of the 12 stages.
“I think the energy comes from the passion I have,” said Sainz. “It’s obviously, believing in yourself, believing that you can still drive and a lot of work behind the scenes as well. To be here at my age and to stay at the level, you need to work a lot beforehand. It doesn’t just come like that. It shows that when you work hard, normally it pays off. At the moment, I want to enjoy this victory and I will think about my future in the next weeks.”
Ricky Brabec claims second bikes title
Honda rider Ricky Brabec took victory in the bikes category; this is his second Dakar title after his 2020 triumph. Ross Branch followed him in second place, making Hero MotoSports the first Indian team to finish on the Dakar podium.
The top three were separated by just 12 minutes, with Brabec’s Honda teammate Adrien Van Beveren finishing third overall. “I feel like this one was more earned. This time was a lot tougher. In 2020, we had a big gap from the get-go. Here, I think me and Ross [Branch] spent three days with a couple of seconds difference. It was a tight race for all of us,” said Brabec.
“Stage 11 was hard for me, but I stayed focused, got to the finishing line and didn’t lose too much time, so I’m really happy with this and I’m really happy for the team,” he added.
It’s been a strong edition of the Dakar Rally for the Indian contingent. Sherco rider Harith Noah finished 11th overall, just six minutes outside the top 10. He secured victory in the Rally 2 class, becoming the first Indian to achieve this feat.
Gutierrez first woman to win Dakar title in 23 years
Despite starting the final stage 25 minutes behind Mitch Guthrie, Cristina Gutierrez took advantage of the latter’s mechanical issues to win in the Challenger class (earlier called the T3 class for lightweight vehicles). She becomes the first woman to win a Dakar title since Jutta Kleinschmidt in 2001.
Manuel Andujar denied Alexandre Giroud a third consecutive Quads title. This is his second Dakar victory, following his first in 2021. Xavier de Soultrait took home the title in the SSV category.
On what was his 12th time participating in the Dakar Rally, MM Technology Team’s Martin Macik scored his first win in the trucks category.
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