Monster Energy Honda Team’s Ricky Brabec holds on to the overall leadership of the 2020 Dakar Rally. The American is poised to tackle the final stage which could be a historical one for the Honda squad. 

The second leg of the marathon stage unfolded without setbacks for the Monster Energy Honda Team. Today, in the penultimate special of the rally, the pretenders to the podium got one second-to-last chance to close the gap on the 2020 Dakar Rally race leader.  Today’s stage, featuring 100 kilometres of dunes at the beginning of the special, favoured those in pursuit of the frontrunners and a group soon formed including Joan Barreda, Ricky Brabec and Kevin Benavides, all of whom made it to the final destination in Haradh without difficulties.

Chilean rider José Ignacio Cornejo finished fourth on the day, less than three minutes behind his fellow-countryman Quintanilla, who took the spoils. Cornejo now has the possibility of attacking tomorrow in the concluding stage in a bid to be among the prize-winners.

Ricky Brabec holds on to the lead that he has held since day three. The American managed well the advantage at the head of the general rankings, in spite of having dropped 12 minutes to the day’s eventual winner and now has everything in his favour in his bid for the outright Dakar Rally 2020 victory.

Joan Barreda opened the track after yesterday’s win and was followed by his Monster Energy Honda squad-mates, Brabec and Benavides. The handicap eventually led him to concede 14’48 to the stage winner. Barreda now lies in fifth place overall but is by no means out of the running for a final podium place in the race.

The final stage will be decided tomorrow between Haradh and Qiddiyah. A 374- kilometre special which will feature a 20-kilometre Qiddiya Trophy GP, obligatory for the riders who finish on the final podium of this edition of the Dakar, although the result will have no effect on the final standings of the rally.


This is…  Stage 12

Link > 73 km – Special > 374 km – Total > 447 km

Composure will be a trusted ally on this final stage, where the positions at the top of the classification can still change. The last hundred kilometres will give the navigators just as many headaches as in the previous week. But the finish line is not far! A 20 km special section, with no impact on the general classification, will also select the winner of the “Qiddiya Trophy”, immediately before climbing onto the final podium.


You can follow the race with live race results and news, by clicking here.

Kevin Benavides 7

STAGE: 9th OVERALL: 19th

Today I started out in third position and attacked hard in the dunes that were very huge but beautiful. I have felt very comfortable and I reached Ricky and Joan. After refuelling we opened the track together. We have conceded some time but it was a good stage for me. Tomorrow is the final day so let's go out there to enjoy ourselves.

Ricky Brabec 9

STAGE: 10th OVERALL: 1st

There’s one stage left. The team is working well. I’m pretty excited. I can’t get my hopes up right now. Stage 11 here in the dunes was pretty tough. Starting up front due to the cancellation of the second part. So it was really hard to judge the time. Tomorrow there is one stage left and I’m in a good starting position. I’m confident to be focused and make it to the finish line.

Joan Barreda

STAGE: 12th OVERALL: 5th

Today I expected less sand but there really was a lot. At the beginning of the stage I saw that it was soft with slow dunes so I figured that there would be quite big differences in the times. In spite of that, I pushed hard over the first kilometres and when I jumped a dune and took a very hard knock and I suffered quite a pain in the wrist for the rest of the special. A few kilometres before the refuelling, I was running low on fuel so I slowed down quite a bit, and lost some time. After the refuelling I upped the pace so as not to waste any more time. At the end of the day, I am happy.

José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo 17

STAGE: 4th OVERALL: 6th

Today was the first day of real dunes. I was feeling pretty much at ease. It was very entertaining and I had a lot of fun. I'm in one piece and the bike too is in perfect shape. Tomorrow is the final day and we are fighting to improve our overall positions. I think that compared to last year I have improved a lot, I feel a much more complete rider. I still have to improve some things but I am very happy with my progress.

2020 Dakar
Stage Round DAK20   Dakar

Results Stage 11

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Quintanilla Pablo 5 CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna 04:09'22
2 Walkner Matthias 2 AUT KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +00'09
3 Benavides Luciano 16 ARG KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +02'48
4 Cornejo José Ignacio "Nacho" 17 CHI Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +02'53
5 Price Toby 1 AUS KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +05'49
6 Mccanney Jamie 28 GBR Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +06'22
7 Caimi Franco 22 ARG Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +07'05
8 Short Andrew 6 USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Husqvarna +08'11
9 Benavides Kevin 7 ARG Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +08'48
10 Brabec Ricky 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +11'48
12 Barreda Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +14'48
2020 Dakar
Stage Round DAK20   Dakar

Provisional Standings after Stage 11

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Brabec Ricky 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda 38:33'28
2 Quintanilla Pablo 5 CHI Husqvarna Factory Rally Team Husqvarna +13'56
3 Price Toby 1 AUS KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +22'34
4 Walkner Matthias 2 AUT KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +29'53
5 Barreda Joan SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +30'09
6 Cornejo José Ignacio "Nacho" 17 CHI Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +32'36
7 Benavides Luciano 16 ARG KTM Factory Racing Team KTM +35'18
8 Caimi Franco 22 ARG Yamalube Yamaha Official Rally Team Yamaha +01:39'14
9 Howes Skyler 59 USA Klymciw Racing KTM +01:59'29
10 Short Andrew 6 USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Husqvarna +02:06'36
19 Benavides Kevin 7 ARG Monster Energy Honda HRC Honda +03:59'31

Monster Energy Honda Team Dakar 2020 Stage 11

Monster Energy Honda Team Dakar 2020 Stage 11

Location Information

Dakar in Saudi From 2020

Records

Dakar 2020 winner Ricky Brabec (Honda)
Dakar 2021 winner Kevin Benavides (Honda)