An exceptional scenario at the Dakar motorcycle rally. Two seconds: this is the gap between the winner of the 48th edition, the Argentinian Luciano Benavides (KTM), and his runner-up, the American Ricky Babrec (Honda). The 30-year-old driver won his very first title in the legendary race by taking advantage of a mind-blowing navigation error from his competitor in the final kilometers of the 13th and final stage.
Luciano Benavides, who finished second in this final stage in Saudi Arabia, won by the Spaniard Edgar Canet (KTM), started more than three minutes behind Babrec, titled in 2020 and 2024 and very close to a third coronation on the Dakar. The American seemed on his way to final victory but he made a mistake at the 98th kilometer (out of 105) according to the organization by taking the wrong path. “I took a bad left track at the end. I feel terribly bad,” he lamented upon arrival.
The smallest gap in the history of the Dakar on a motorcycle
An incredible navigation error which therefore benefited Benavides. “I had dreamed of this moment my whole life. I never stopped dreaming, I never stopped believing. Even yesterday it seemed impossible to me but I always had the feeling that it could happen, and today Ricky took the wrong track and I took the right one,” rejoiced the new winner on the podium.
Never in the history of the Dakar has the gap been so small between the winner of the motorcycle race and his runner-up. The previous record dating from 2023 was 45 seconds between Australian Toby Price…. and Luciano’s older brother, then-titled Kevin Benavides.
Spaniard Tosha Schareina (Honda) took third place in the stage and overall in the motorcycle event. The first Frenchman, Adrien Van Beveren (Honda), who climbed to third place on the podium last year, this time finished in sixth place.
