Dakar Rally

Hero MotoCorp finally gets a podium finish at Dakar Rally

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Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, has created history becoming the first ever Indian manufacturer team to finish on the podium of the legendary Dakar Rally. Hero MotoSports Team Rally was formed in 2016 and it participated in its first Dakar Rally in 2017. Over the years, the team has achieved multiple podiums, wins and stage wins at top rally-raids across the world. In its fifth year at Saudi Arabia, the 2024 edition of Dakar Rally was undoubtedly the toughest so far – longer stages, extreme terrains, and confusing navigation right from the start. Two new formats of racing were also introduced by the organizers to add more spice – a marathon stage early on in the race, and a 48H chrono stage during which the competitors were split across several bivouacs – away from their teams, and surviving on bare minimum essentials. As many as one-third of the competitors who started the race retired from the rally across the 14 days of grind. To get to a Dakar podium is no small feat – a thousand things need to be right, and yet, each kilometer of these many thousands can destroy a result with a tiny mistake. 8,000 kilometers at the world’s toughest rally conquered with a top-2 result – Hero has made it clear they’re here to stay. Ross Branch finished the Rally at the second place for the Hero Factory Team. His consistent performance over the 12 stages saw him at the first and second spots in the overall rankings throughout the Rally.

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Dakar Rally 2024 starts today

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A New year and the Dakar Rally is back The 2024 Dakar Rally will kick off with a prologue stage on Jan. 5, in Al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia. The rally will have 12 stages to follow including a 48-hour marathon stage. This year’s rally has 136 registered entries in the motorcycle class. The competitors include Kevin Benavides, who won last year and in 2021, the 2022 winner Sam Sunderland, and American Ricky Brabec who won in 2020. Rally dates are Fri, 5 Jan, 2024 – Fri, 19 Jan, 2024 Watch and read live updates at: https://www.dakar.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com/en/ * * * *

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Dakar Rally 2023 Results

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by Vaibhav Kashyap from https://bikeindia.in and Report from Kurt Morris Kevin Benavides won the final stage 14 of the 2023 Dakar Rally to top the overall bike title results by 43 seconds over Toby Price. The 2023 Dakar Rally’s final stage 14 was won by Kevin Benavides, who outpaced Toby Price by 43 seconds to win the overall bike title. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider won the final two stages on his 450 Rally Factory to move up from third to first and win his second Dakar Rally championship. The Argentine, placed second in the first stage, dropped to fourth overall in stage two but managed to maintain his podium position during the following 12 stages with impressive consistency. On a Honda, Benavides finished the 136-kilometre-long special ahead of Price in second place by 55 seconds. Benavides had also won the 2021 Dakar Rally. The American, Skyler Howes of Husqvarna Factory Racing, was placed third overall with a fifth in the last stage, five minutes and four seconds behind Benavides. After nearly 44 hours and 30 minutes and 5,000 kilometres of racing against the clock, the winning margin was less than a minute. Price had a 12-second lead going into the last stage and almost missed his third Dakar Rally bike title, but he gave credit to teammate, Benavides. In his fourth start in the famous off-road rally raid competition, Howes earned his maiden podium finish. After six stages, this St George (Utah) native was in the lead overall. In stage competitions, he finished on the podium five times on his Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory. Howes, who has recently won several significant races and has also established himself as a well-known factory-backed star rider in rallies, maintained his stunning ascent with a third-place finish at Dakar. He was

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Dakar 2021: Honda registers back-to-back win in motorcycle class

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from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com Argentine Kevin Benavides, riding a Honda, on Friday won the motorcycle category of the 2021 Dakar Rally becoming the first South American to achieve the feat. Ricky Brabec, the 2020 champion in the motorcycle class, finished second to teammate Kevin Benavides to clutch the first one-two Dakar Rally finish for Honda since 1987. Sam Sunderland, the 2017 champion in the category, finished third riding a KTM. Benavides clinched the title on the 12th and the final stage of the category held on Friday. Honda has now registered a back-to-back win in the motorcycle class. The finish of the final stage was completely overshadowed by the death of the French rider, Pierre Cherpin, who had been in an induced coma since his crash on the 7th stage. “On stage five I was worried because I crashed so fast and hit my head and my ankle and felt a lot of pain. On that day I said maybe the Dakar is finished for me. But I continued pushing. I still have some pain, but at the moment I am more happy than in pain,” said Kevin Benavides after the finish.

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Sainz wins Dakar for third time as Brabec takes motorcycle title

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from Reuters Spaniard Carlos Sainz became a triple Dakar Rally champion with the Mini X-Raid team on Friday while American Ricky Brabec took the motorcycle crown for Honda and ended KTM’s 18-year dominance. Spaniard Carlos Sainz became a triple Dakar Rally champion with the Mini X-Raid team on Friday while American Ricky Brabec took the motorcycle crown for Honda and ended KTM’s 18-year dominance. Both are the first winners in Saudi Arabia, a country making its debut as host of the grueling endurance event, but have to reach the formal finish in Qiddiya before the results are official. Brabec is the first American to win the Dakar in any category since it started as a race from Paris through the Sahara desert to the Senegalese capital in West Africa in 1979. Two times world rally champion Sainz, whose son and namesake races in Formula One for McLaren, ended the final timed stage with a six-minute and 21 seconds advantage over Qatar’s defending champion Nasser Al Attiyah. Sainz, 57, also won in 2010 and 2018 when the rally was held in South America. His three victories have been with different car manufacturers, the first coming with Volkswagen and the second in a Peugeot. Triple champion Al Attiyah won the final stage to finish as overall runner-up for Toyota with Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel, a 13 times winner on two and four wheels, completing the top three in his 31st Dakar. Sainz, 57, also won in 2010 and 2018 when the rally was held in South America. His three victories have been with different car manufacturers, the first coming with Volkswagen and the second in a Peugeot.

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Hero Motosports rally rider Paulo Goncalves dies at Dakar Rally

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from https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com from https://www.theguardian.com/ Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves made his Dakar debut in 2006 and finished four times in the top 10 including a runner-up finish in 2015. Riyadh: Tragedy struck Hero MotoSports Team on Sunday as its Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves met with a fatal accident during the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally. Paulo, aged 40, passed away from a fall sustained 276 kilometers into today’s special zone. “The organisers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest. Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead,” Hero Motosport said in a release. Fondly known as ‘speedy Goncalves’, it was 13th Dakar for the Portuguese, one of the most experienced riders on the field. He made his Dakar debut in 2006 and finished four times in the top 10 including a runner-up finish in 2015 He has had an illustrious journey in the rally-racing world, including a series of remarkable performances at the world’s most prestigious rallies. He was crowned 2013 FIM Cross Country Rally World Champion. “Words cannot describe our shock and loss at this moment. It isn’t just a team, it is a family for us and we are devastated with the passing away of one of our members, Paulo Goncalves,” Wolfgang Fischer, Head of Hero MotoSports Team Rally said. “He joined the Team in April last year and within no time became an integral part of the Hero MotoSports Team family. He will be dearly missed and always be fondly remembered by us. “Paulo was a true champion, gentleman, reliable friend to everyone in the racing world and a role model as sportsman and personality. We extend

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