Dakar, Brabec: “This year’s win? Better than that of 2020”

A few days has passed since the conclusion of the 46th edition of the Dakar, which was won by Ricky Brabec following a hard-fought battle with Ross Branch. This is the American Honda rider’s second career win in the world’s toughest and most important Rally Raid but, with respect to his 2020 victory (in what was the first Saudi edition of the race), this year’s edition posed much more of a challenge, considering the very close racing and the complexity of the route.

Brabec: “Just seconds separated Branch and me”

The American was keen to highlight both the challenges and the satisfaction of winning: “It’s always great to start the year with a win, especially in a race as prestigious as the Dakar. Both Ross Branch and my team-mates put up a really great fight, which continued all the way to the end. This is my second win, but it’s definitely a lot sweeter this time”.

“In 2020, I had a much bigger lead right from the early stages”, continues Brabec. “But this time, Branch and I were just seconds apart for a long while and, in the end, the gap separating the top three came down to ten minutes. A really close thing, considering we covered thousands of miles of special stages, but it tells you a lot about the level this year”.

“9 is my new lucky number”

As for the toughest section, Ricky cites Stage 11: “The eleventh special was the hardest for me, because Branch started behind me and I knew that, if he reached me, I’d lose my lead just before the final stage. Fortunately that’s not how it went and now, considering I won after using the number 9 for the first time, I’ll have to keep it forever, as it’s become my lucky number.”