Ricky Brabec rallies back from an early crash to win Stage 1 of the YPF INFINIA Desafio Ruta 40
Big day at the fourth round of the 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship – the YPF INFINIA Desafio Ruta 40 – With Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally Team racers Ricky Brabec (1st), Tosha Schareina (2nd) and Adrien Van Beveren (3rd) sweeping the Stage 1 Cordoba to Cordoba race podium in Argentina.
Some 505 km, including a massive 381 km Special section, began with freezing temperatures, ultra-slick conditions and a tricky 10 km sand wash which created a situation that would wreck Brabec as he was pushing in the opening Special section.
“First half of the first special I laid the bike on its side going pretty fast, but after that we had refueling, time to regroup, and then I decided to make a push,”
said Brabec, who’s in 2nd place in the overall behind teammate Schareina – by one second after the Prologue and opening stage. “(I) lost some time in the first Special, so the second Special I put my head down and did the best we could. Really made sure I entered and exited the corners without sliding too much and, even though I made a few smaller mistakes near the end of the second Special. It was what it was. The roads out here are slick. Good job to the whole team and I’m looking forward to the next four days.”
Just a second back of Brabec in 2nd place was Schareina, the defending Desafio Ruta 40 champion. He, along with teammates Brabec and Van Beveren, all agreed that the conditions, especially in the morning, were extremely difficult due to the slick conditions. He ended up losing to teammate Brabec by 20 meters after 505 kilometers.
“Hard day at the office,” said Schareina. “Today was super sketchy, super, super slippery too. I tried to push the first 100 K, but it was frozen in the morning. We will wait for tomorrow.”
In the third podium position on Stage 1 of the Desafio Ruta 40 was Van Beveren. “It was a good day, really enjoyed the riding in Cordoba,” said Van Beveren, who’s in 3rd place in the standings, 1:29 back of the leaders. “Lot of corners, lot of turns and really, really slippery. You had to be really careful. But it was a lot of fun. Really had to use your riding skills and the Monster Energy/Honda CRF450 Rally worked very well as we did 1-2-3.”
Monster Energy also enjoyed some solid results from the WRRC Abu Dhabi winner with Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy, as Sebastian Buhler ripped in with a 4th place finish, 2:06 behind Brabec and Schareina. And following Buhler in to round out the top five in Stage 1 was the overall WRRC points leader, Monster Energy’s Ross Branch (Hero), with a 4:02:06 to put him 2:29 behind the leaders.
Desafio Ruta 40 Stage 1 Results
1st – Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda)
2nd – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda) + 0:01
3rd – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda) + 0:44
4th – Sebastian Buhler (Hero/Monster Energy) + 2:06
5th – Ross Branch (Hero/Monster Energy) + 2:29
Desafio Ruta 40 overall standings (after Prologue & Stage 1)
1st – Schareina
2nd – Brabec (+ 0:01)
3rd – Van Beveren (+ 1:29)
4th – Buhler (+ 2:54)
5th – Branch (+2:56)
2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (through 3 of 5 rounds)
Overall Standings
1st – Ross Branch (Monster Energy/Hero Motosports), 61 points
2nd – Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda HRC), 40 points
3rd – Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda HRC), 38 points
4th – Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy/Honda HRC), 27 points
5th – Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy/Honda HRC), 25 points
6th – Aaron Mare (Monster Energy/Hero Motosports), 25 points
7th – Nacho Cornejo (Monster Energy/Hero Motosports), 20 points
8th – Skyler Howes (Monster Energy/Honda HRC), 13 points
Up next… Stage 2 of the Argentinian FIM World Rally-Raid Championship’s YPF INFINIA Desafio Ruta 40 will start from Cordoba and run through San Juan, 423 kilometers of Special sections and 301 kilometers Liaison. For more info on WRRC and Monster Energy’s racers with Honda and Hero, link to: www.worldrallyraidchampionship.com