Kevin Benavides

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 […]