Jose “Nacho” Cornejo Wins Dakar’s Stage 4

A healthy dose of Dakar Rally ‘Nacho’ was served up on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter desert this morning and into the afternoon as Monster Energy/Honda Team’s affable Jose “Nacho” Cornejo raced to victory in the 4th Stage of Dakar, Round One of the 2024 FIM World Rally Raid Championship series. And to make things even better for the M-claw brand, joining Cornejo on the second rung of the rostrum was his Monster Energy/Honda Team teammate, Ricky Brabec.

With the 1st place effort Cornejo was able to wrestle the popular motorcycle class overall lead away from another Monster Energy athlete, Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy’s, Ross Branch. Branch suffered a couple get-offs during the stage (which he explains, with a good laugh, later here) and now sits in 2nd place overall in the standings. And with Brabec picking up the 3rd place overall spot, Monster Energy racers occupy the entire overall Dakar podium after five rounds (four stages + the Prologue).

Word emanated out of Monster Energy/Honda Team’s bivouac compound in Al Hofuf along the Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province was that Cornejo’s masterful usage of the Honda CRF450 Rally’s on-bike navigational tool, and his lightning-fast interpretation of the event’s roadbook, was the difference in today’s race. Combine that with his already notable speed, and the Chilean was the first to cross the Stage 4 finish line after starting in the 6th position.

In addition to the aforementioned racers, also running well today for Monster Energy were Adrien Van Beveren (Honda Team) in the top five (5th), Hero Motosports/Monster Energy’s Joan Barreda Bort, who overcame a tough Stage 3 (speeding penalties) to rally back to a 7th place finish today, and Skyler Howes (Honda Team), who, with a Stage 4 top ten finish (9th), stayed withing striking distance of the top ten (13th) after starting 44th following the event-opening Prologue.

Stage 4 Quotes

Cornejo: “Yeah, good day out there. They say shorter stage that the previous three, maybe a little bit easier, but there was there was some tricky parts too, so I had to stay focused. In the beginning I made a little navigational mistake, and I felt I had to push harder until we stopped to refuel. And then I noticed I was doing really good. I kept the pace in the second part and rode with Ross (Branch) for a while. So yeah, it was fun, I kept it safe, and minimized my mistakes. So I think that was the key today.”

Brabec: “Stage 4 was good. It was actually the shortest one yet. Happy to have a shorter day. But a little bit faster. Definitely wasn’t easy. Navigation’s really tricky this year. It catches you off guard quick. If you’re not on your toes, from sun up to sun down, it really throws you for a loop. But yeah, it was a good day. Tomorrow’s a sand dune day, but it’s a short day. Short day in the Special, but long day in the saddle with an interesting Laison.”

Branch: “Two crashes today, but I’m in one piece (laughing). Unfortunately, I gave the mechanics a lot of work to do. I tested everything and the bike looks really good (more laughter). But we’re feeling good and strong for tomorrow. That’s racing. It happens to all of us. I was just lucky I could stand up and be in one piece.”

Notes:

• Today’s stage (4), according to the winner Cornejo, was sandy piste (trail) – between rocks – at the beginning, which became much more rocky, and tricky (less visible), as the stage progressed. The last portion of Stage 4 got into some sand dunes. “It was very mixed terrain today,” added Cornejo.
• “It was a late night for a few people,” said Brabec, laughing, after he saw a number of (unnamed) guys following Stage 4, still with their race/team gear on, asleep on the ground by the fire pit outside the breakfast tent at 4 a.m.
• Hero Motorsports, fueled by Monster Energy’s Ross Branch, in joking about his two (2) crashes today in Stage 4. “Yeah, I certainly bought some land in Saudi Arabia.” Branch was covered in Saudi soil/sand when he made it back to the Al Hofuf bivouac.
• Rock and terrains are, admittedly, not Cornejo’s strength. So the newly designed Honda CRF450 Rally has been very comfortable for Cornejo, adding he’s not only very happy with it and confirmed how good of a machine it is, that Honda did a superior job with the bike’s redesign.
• With a shorter stage today, Brabec mentioned that one of the keys to that – and being back to the bivouac and hour earlier – is that it give the mechanics more time to work on the motorcycles before they have to pack everything up and head out in the darkness of night (3 a.m. departure) to the next bivouac.

Wednesday’s Stage 5 runs from Al Hofuf to Shubaytah, opening with a massive Liaison that’ll have the competitors in the saddle and on the road well before sunrise, and culminates with a speed-sapping run through the Empty Quarter sand dunes. Much of the field it is said will not arrive to the bivouac in Shubaytah before the sun sets, making for one long day of competition. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com