Ross Branch Takes 1st On Dakar’s Stage 11

The penultimate stage podium of the 2024 Dakar Rally, round one of the FIM World Rally Raid Championship, would again be stacked from top to bottom with Monster Energy athletes as 1st place Ross Branch (Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy), 2nd place Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda Team) and 3rd place Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy/Honda Team) completed the third consecutive podium sweep for the motorsports-friendly energy drink company based out of Corona, Calif.

With the victory, his second of this year’s Dakar event, Branch was able to increase his hold on 2nd place overall in the standings, with one stage remaining, over 3rd place overall Van Beveren by 4:09. AVB would suffer a maximum get-off on Stage 11 (more on that below), and was lucky to be able to continue the stage. Still leading Dakar’s motorcycle division is Brabec, who holds a 10:22 advantage over Branch heading into the 12th and final stage on Friday.

“So happy to be here,” said Branch. “You know it’s been a long 11 days. It’s been up and down and the results have been really close. Some good, and some not-so-good. But yeah, second to last day, one last push, and I’m really excited. It’s been good rally for us as a team and we’re in a good place now.”

Also noteworthy on Stage 11 for Monster Energy was the effort put forth by 4th place overall racer, Jose “Nacho” Cornejo. At the 115 km mark of the stage Cornejo suffered a fuel pump issue (with his main tank), and was forced to pull over, for ten minutes, while he transferred the fuel from his front tank to his rear reserve tank (where the separate fuel pump was still functional). Cornejo finished the stage, in 17th place, and preserved his overall 4th place position over KTM’s Kevin Benavides by 2:37.

And in the SSV division, just as the Dakar giveth yesterday with Monster Energy’s Sara Price becoming the first American woman to win a stage at the famed rally, Dakar can also taketh away. Price went from the highest of highs with her 1st place run on Wednesday, to an 11th place run on Thursday’s stage – 1 hour and 8 minutes off the winning time due to multiple tire punctures. The finish also toppled Price and her South Racing/Can-Am co-driver Jeremy Gray from a podium position, as least at this juncture. With one stage remaining, Price, in her very first Dakar Rally, sits in 4th place, a little more than four minutes back of Yasir Seaidan and Adrien Metge of Team MMP.

Stage Quotes

Brabec: “There’s one day more to go, for sure. Shorter day, so that’ll make it a bit easier. My competition starts right in front of me, so tomorrow will be a little bit of management, and make sure we get to the finish line.”

Van Beveren: “You know we are in a fight with Ross (Branch), so I decided to push today. Anything can happen. It was a tough stage and I knew Ross could for sure be fast on that, but I can be fast also. I pushed hard, had two or three scary moments near the start, but then I said to myself ‘OK, don’t go over the limit.’ Try to ride below the limit, establish a rhythm. Make it consistent. The 50 km through the end, I was on the main piste before the refueling, and had a really big crash. I think I flew. My airbag went off before I landed on the ground, and I think that’s what saved me. The crash was massive, and I’m glad to be OK. I landed on my head, too, and was a bit confused. A bit lost. I lost quite a bit of time, but I made it to the end. And considering this crash I’m glad I’m still in the race. And I will fight until the end.”

Price: “My heart broke at one point, thinking it was all over. But we never gave up and continued on, and we will fight another day. But, unfortunately, (we) lost a lot of hard-earned time.”

Notes:

• Brabec regarding the role the mechanics play at Dakar: “The mechanics work harder than anyone else in the bivouac. If we can get them information right away than they can get started on things earlier, then, hopefully, get some more rest. But for the mechanics at Dakar, I don’t think there’s any rest for those guys.”
   
• More on Price… Reports out of the Yanbu bivouac were that Price suffered two punctures prior to the Stage 11 refueling stop. During the stop she found out that the race leaders (Xavier De Soultrait and Martin Bonnet) had been assessed a substantial penalty. With that Price, and her ‘Go For It’ attitude, put the hammer down on her Maverick X3 and tried to make up the time on the aforementioned team that might put her into overall 1st place. But in doing so, pushing the limit of the tires in the rocky terrain, she suffered two more punctures and, at that point, had to park her SSV in the desert until new tires arrived.
   
• Monster Energy/Honda Team’s Brabec has a 10:22 lead on Branch for the overall Dakar motorcycle division championship. Brabec, who also won the title in 2020 – becoming the first American to win Dakar – need only keep Branch’s dust in sight, who starts just ahead of Brabec on Friday. Beyond that, the third and final podium spot favors Van Beveren by more than 20 minutes over his teammate Cornejo, despite that gnarly get off AVB suffered on Thursday.
   
• Also on Brabec, AVB & Honda… The American great, Brabec, was the runner-up in the 2022 Dakar, and placed 9th last year – gutting out a tough injury. AVB, should he place (and will in all likelihood) 3rd on Friday, will mark the French great’s third consecutive Dakar podium (3rd/3rd/3rd). And with the effort from those two aforementioned racers, Honda will roll away from Saudi Arabia with the definitive lead in FIM World Rally Raid Championship’s overall Constructors’ Championship – 62 points to 2nd place Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy, with 30 points (via Branch).

Dakar Stage 11 Motorcycle Results

Monster Energy Motorcycle Standings @ Dakar (after Stage 11)

Monster Energy Dakar SSV Class

Dakar’s final stage - #12 – is a short, Yanbu to Yanbu 153 km Liaison and 175 km Special loop, with a 144 km timed section, which will be tough for the race leader, possibly Branch, but advantageous to the racer running behind – likely Brabec. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com