Cornejo makes it a hat-trick of stage victories and Brabec leads overall by just one second!

The second week of the Dakar 2024 was kicked off with José Ignacio Cornejo cementing his status as one of the favourites for the top step in Yanbu as he put in a flawless ride.

The Monster Energy Honda Team riders were refreshed after a rest day in Riyadh and if they were expecting an easier return on stage seven then the organisers had other plans. The 483 km special was going to feature some perplexing navigation on small winding gravel tracks around eye-catching canyons, off-piste wadis, a couple of dune sections and adding to this was a total 390 km of liaison as they headed to Al Duwadimi. 

Cornejo went into this final week just out of the podium positions, his teammate Adrien Van Beveren had taken the final spot after his faultless 48 Hour Chrono win so the Chilean’s aim was to get back in the hunt.  In spite of a small fall he carved out over a three minute gap to reigning World Rally-Raid champion Luciano Benavides.  Achieving his goal he is now back into third, just six minutes 48 seconds off leader Ricky Brabec.

As the 2020 Dakar Rally winner and with vast experience in the world of rally-raid,  Brabec has been consistent since the start in AlUla where he’s been in the top three of the overall standings before nabbing the top spot after the 48 Hour Chrono on Friday. Catching teammate Adrien Van Beveren and  Toby Price during the stage today, he joined in for a share of the bonuses gaining nearly four minutes. His fifth place finish was just enough to keep him at the top of the overall standings by the narrowest of margins to  Ross Branch.  An astonishing single second separates them after 32 hours of rallying!

First one out onto the stage, Adrien Van Beveren was always going to find it a tough ask to not lose time today. After conquering the dunes at the end of last week, a change of terrain and complicated navigation saw him end the day in a very frustrating ninth.  Despite the stage six winner hoovering up over five minutes in bonuses, the gap to Brabec in the overall standings has increased to over fourteen minutes and has dropped him off the podium.  A better starting position tomorrow should help to rectify things.  

The 48 Hour Chrono derailed Pablo Quintanilla’s shot at overall victory and although his aim was to end the rally strongly for world championship points, he suffered another setback today 112 km into the stage. Suffering from a mechanical issue he eventually got to the finish line two and half hours behind Cornejo on a long day for the Chilean rider.

The intensity of this 46th edition of the Dakar continues as the team heads into the final five days of rallying with a total of 678 km on the bike tomorrow, 458 km making up the special stage.  Although the organisers have said stage eight from Al Duwadimi to Ha’il will be easier than the previous days, rocky terrain is back on the route tomorrow and it won’t favour every rider.