Monster Energy Set To Unleash The Beast At 2024 Dakar Rally

NASCAR has its Daytona, IndyCar its 500, and for sports cars it’s the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All iconic races that are synonymous with the unique style of cars that race them.

In the world of endurance off-road racing things are a bit different in that all forms of off-road competition vehicles – autos, side-by-side UTVs, quads and, especially, motorcycles – are all combined into one race. And the premier event showcasing off-road’s premier racers and teams is the annual running of the FIM World Rally Raid Championship’s (WRRC) Dakar Rally.

This year’s Dakar Rally will be the fifth installment run through Saudi Arabia. Progressively more difficult according to the event promoters, the event begins on January 5th in Alula, with the Prologue and Stage 1, then runs throughout Saudi’s incredibly challenging territory for 14 total days/12 stages, 820 competitors from 68 nations – and some 5,000 kilometers – before the finish in Yanbu on January 19th.

Monster Energy will be incredibly well-represented at this year’s Dakar Rally, fueling – by far – what’s looking to be the greatest number of the world’s top off-road motorcycle racers to ever boot up for Dakar under one energy drink brand. This includes:

Monster Energy Honda Team

• #7 Pablo Quintanilla… Placed just off the podium in 4th place at the 2023 Dakar Rally; 3rd place at the Rally du Maroc was his top WRRC finish of ’23.
• #9 Ricky Brabec… The past Dakar champion (’20) and ’21 runner-up, Brabec crashed out of last year’s Dakar Rally and is said to be in incredible shape for the 2024 installment of the great race.
• #10 Skyler Howes… A late 2023 season acquisition for Monster Energy Honda Racing, Howes placed 3rd at last year’s Dakar, making him only the 5th American to podium at the legendary race. 2024 will be his first race aboard the Monster Energy-shod Honda CRF450 Rally bike.
• #11 Jose Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo…Since his first Dakar Rally in 2016, Nacho had racked up four top ten overall finishes – including a 4th place run in 2020 with two stage wins.
• #42 Adrien Van Beveren… Narrowly missing the Dakar Rally podium in 2017 and ’22 with 4th place finishes, “AVB” placed 5th at last year’s Dakar, and won the WRRC’s Abu Dhabi round.
• #68 Tosha Schareina… The hottest racer on Hondas last year, Schareina was elevated to Monster Energy Honda Racing’s factory program for 2024 after winning both WRRC Baja Aragon and Desafio Ruta 40 rounds and placing 2nd at Mexico’s Sonora Rally.

Hero Motorsports, fueled by Monster Energy

• #46 Ross Branch… The “Kalahari Ferrari” as he’s affectionately known, Branch locked down his best off-road competition season to date in 2023, placing 4th overall in the WRRC with three top five finishes, including a 3rd place podium run at the Desafio Ruta 40.
• #88 Joan Barreda… The legendary Spanish off-roader is the all-time active stage winner at Dakar, and brings a wealth of knowledge, speed and racing acumen to the Hero program.  
• #27 Joaquim Rodriguez… Dakar can show its teeth at a moment’s notice, and Rodrigues was the victim of that last year as he left Saudi Arabia with a broken leg. The WRRC’s Rallye du Maroc then set him back again with a broken scapula. Plan is to rebound for ’24 beginning with Dakar.
• #14 Sebastian Buhler… With three Dakars under his belt (2019, ’20 & ’23), Buhler was the 2020 FIM Bajas World Champion. A podium stage finish at last year’s Dakar proves he’s got the speed to run near the front. 

Monster Energy will also have a representative in Dakar’s SSV (SXS in the States) class as Sara Price (South Racing/Can-Am) qualified for Dakar by winning the Road to Dakar class at the Sonora Rally this past April. Price followed up her effort in Mexico with two impressive stage wins at the Rallye du Maroc, taking 4th place overall. Price will race the Can-Am Maverick X3 with navigator Jeremy Gray.