It’s the same each and every year: the Dakar Rally grabs us and for two full weeks we become devout Dakar dreamers. It’s the ultimate adventure and every year it’s full of storylines that keep us on the edge of our seats — stories like these from the 2024 edition …
GO RICKY
There’s no doubt American Ricky Brabec is a seriously accomplished competitor who lives and breathes the Dakar. He won the event in 2020 and he won it again this year for the Monster Energy Honda HRC team, but the two races were entirely different in the way they played out for him.
“This year was a lot tougher,” Brabec admitted. “In 2020 we had a big gap from the get-go. This time, I think Ross (Branch) and I spent three days with just a couple of seconds difference between us. It was a tight race for all of us, along with Adrien (van Beveren) in third, with just 11 minutes between us. Ten minutes is not a big gap in this rally.
“I had some good days and I had opportunities to make a good push, but on stage 11 there was a scare because I knew Ross would be starting 18 minutes behind me, and if he caught me, it would be all over. But I stayed focused, got to the finish line and didn’t lose too much time. I’m just really happy with this and I’m really happy for the team. We did an excellent job for all of the two weeks. I think number nine will be my lucky number from now on.”
HERE’S JOHNNY
Playing the mentor role in Brabec’s career is American Team Honda Baja and desert racing legend Johnny Campbell, who has been with the now two-time Dakar champ every step of the way. In the Dakar, a rider’s physical and mental prep, along with constantly evaluating strategy
