Van Beveren (Honda) Victorious at Dakar’s Chrono 48 | Stage 6

Monster Energy/Honda Team racer Adrien Van Beveren stepped up and won Thursday and Friday’s two part Dakar Rally stage, Stage 6a & 6b – aka the “Chrono 48 – topping KTM’s Toby Price by 4:13 for his first Dakar stage victory of the 15-day long opening race of the 2024 FIM World Rally Raid Championship series.

Joining Van Beveren on the Stage 6 podium was Monster Energy/Honda Team’s Ricky Brabec, who raced to a 3rd place finish – 5:02 behind AVB. With his 3rd place effort Brabec, the 2020 overall Dakar Rally winner, took control of this year’s overall motorcycle division points lead, :51 seconds ahead of Monster Energy’s Ross Branch (Hero Motosports). Rounding out the overall podium after six stages was Van Beveren in 3rd place, with Jose “Nacho” Cornejo (Monster Energy/Honda Team) in 4th to give the powerful glowing green M-claw logo four out of the top four positions in the class.

But as new Monster Energy racers reached the top of the charts, others have fallen in the struggle to contest the world’s most difficult off-road motorsports event. And it’d be during the Chrono 48 marathon stage that Monster Energy/Honda Team’s Skyler Howes would bow out of the competition as he suffered a mechanical issue in 6a and was unable to complete the stage. 

Back of the motorcycles, in the SSV class, Monster Energy’s Sara Price (South Racing/Can-Am) rallied back to a strong 4th place finish in Stage 6 and, in the process, climbed back up to 2nd place in the overall standings.

Stage 6 Quotes

Van Beveren: “I have good stuff to say this time. Sometimes bad stuff, but this time good stuff (laughter). Stage 6 was a tough one. We had to manage a lot because the concentration was high and the sand was really soft. 625 kilometers in the dunes is a lot of time on the bike, so it was really physical. I enjoyed it to be honest. I trained a lot, I do a lot of cycling and stuff, so I think that helped in these conditions. But it was tough. We slept in conditions we weren’t used to, very small, and without proper food. We ate just military rations. But it was a nice adventure. I feel like I’ve been living something different. And I for sure will remember that. We sat around a fire at night with the teammates, and also with the competitors. So to make a win was nice. You don’t look for wins all the time, but when it happens, you for sure enjoy it.”

Brabec: “The Chrono stage was definitely a good experience. I had a lot of fun. The dunes were a lot, but I’m still feeling 100-percent and ready to go. The camping experience was fun. We didn’t get much sleep, that’s for sure. But it was really nice to hang out with the guys for the night. We had fun. Burned everything we could find (in the fire pit). Last two days were quite eventful. I rode by myself for most of the day on 6a, then I finally caught Kevin (Benavides, KTM) and Luciano (Benavides, Husqvarna) towards the end. Then today, 6b, I caught Kevin pretty quick, then rode with him pretty much the whole way – 110 kilometers. We made it to Rest Day, a lot of us have about a day and a half rest, which is pretty nice. We’ll hit Riyadh by airplane, grab a hotel, chill for the next day, then buckle up for the final week.”

Branch: “So Stage 6 is over and done with and what a crazy stage! The first time we’ve had this kind of format and it was incredibly hard, one of the toughest stages I’ve ever done in rally. The pace was not so bad, thought I maintained it really well. Then at night we camped out there with nothing, had really nothing but each other to talk to, which was really cool. 113 ks to the finish this morning through really tough dunes, but I managed to bring ‘er home in one piece. The bike is all good, I’m feeling strong for week number two, looking forward to Rest Day tomorrow, then on to Week 2 next week. Really want to than Monster Energy for all the support. It’s really awesome. Thank you.”

Notes:

• Best way to put a smile on a Chilean’s face? After the grueling Chrono 48 stage, have a big American breakfast, complete with pancakes and fried eggs, waiting for Nacho (and the rest of his teammates) at the Monster Energy/Honda Team bivouac in Shubaytah. “That was gold,” said Cornejo upon completing the breakfast, prepared by Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons.
   
• AVB with the racer’s perspective on Rest Day: “We know what is coming, so you can’t completely rest your mind. You can rest your body, which will be nice, but it’s going to be a tough second week for sure. For me it’s good to be in a good position for when we start back up. I have some confidence to be able to go fast, and have some rhythm.”
   
• Stage 5 winner Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy/Honda Team) ran into a bit of a head scratcher on Stage 6 when he ran out of gas – something that, curiously, rarely happens with the top factory racers. The result was more than an hour delay before another competitor helped Quintanilla out, and he dropped from 6th in the overall standings to 17th.
   
• Ever stop to think how the supports teams, including Monster Energy-backed Honda and Hero, are able to get all their vehicles across the desert to meet up with the racers? One thing’s for sure, they aren’t speeding from one destination to the other as race organizers outfit every vehicle on the road with what’s referred to as a “Trippy” – a device that monitors, among other things, the vehicles’ speed. Go over the speed limit, 1st offense, and it’s a 100 Euro fine. The next offense takes time off your top racer’s overall. So needless to say, it ain’t no Gumball Rally at Dakar with the chase vehicles.
   
• And speaking of the support teams, a big 854 km trip on Friday from Shubaytah to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia and the largest (pop. 7 million) city on the Arabian Peninsula. Monster Energy/Honda Team will arrive in Riyadh at around midnight (UTC) on Saturday – Dakar’s official Rest Day… which some of the support crew team jokingly refer to as “Laundry Day.”
   
• “He has sand in his blood.” Dakar.com’s illustrative description of Stage 6 winner Van Beveren.
   
• AVB continues to rave about the redesigned Honda CRF450 Rally, but at the same time he’s cautious with his praise, saying: “I feel we did a really big step compared to the old version (of the CRF450 Rally). And I am super happy about how the bike is going. But I won’t say much because this is a mechanical sport and anything can happen. But for now my bike is in good mechanical shape and good condition, and I’m glad the mechanics will spend some time (on Rest Day) and check everything.”

Dakar Stage 5 Motorcycle Results

Monster Energy Motorcycle Standings @ Dakar (after Stage 5)

Monster Energy Dakar SSV Class

Rest Day for the 2024 Dakar Rally racers and teams. Action gets back underway on Sunday, Jan. 17, with the Riyadh to Al Duwadimi Stage 7. Opening with a canyon maze, constantly changing direction, and then tossing racers right back into the sand dunes, Stage 7 puts the racers right back into the reality of Saudi Arabia following their day of rest. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com