VICTORIES AT THE DAKAR RALLY

STORY BY: SHAUN OCHSNER PHOTOS: E. Vargiolu, F. Gooden, J.Delfosse, C. Lopez, A. Vincent Peterhansel Wins the Overall

Honda Secures Second Consecutive Victory

Ricky Brabec Finishes Second

The 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally started and finished in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this year. It is the second year of a muti-year deal for the Rally to be held in the country. This year’s rally spanned across 12 stages with one rest day and a prologue at the beginning. Competitors traversed through 4,751 miles of some of the roughest Saudi Arabian terrain.

Tainted fuel, speed restrictions for the minis and COVID-19. Those were just a few of the challenges and controversies at the 2021 Dakar Rally. First of all, trying to hold a large-scale rally event in a foreign country during a global pandemic was no easy feat. Travel restrictions cancelled flights and quarantine requirements threatened to sideline several competitors. Miraculously, some were able to still find flights into the country. The A.S.O scrambled to charter 18 flights.

Other issues plagued the rally such as contaminated fuel supplied by race organizers. The fuel controversy forced Andrew Short to abandon his rally efforts

ABOVE: Andrew Short withdrew from the rally after receiving tainted fuel. The Yamaha Monster Energy Rally team attempted to get the FIM to adjust Stage 2 finishing results, but their request was denied.

early on in the event. Short received a can of fuel that had a water mixture in it. Short posted a picture from the bivouac of the fuel tank with the caption “Almost 4 liters of water in my fuel.” Other riders also discovered water in their tanks as well. The Yamaha Monster Energy Rally team unsuccessfully lobbied the FIM to freeze the results after stage 2. The FIM denied the request, causing Short to pull out of the rally. Speed restrictions are nothing new at the Dakar Rally. Robby Gordon was slowed down in 2018 when his Wildcat XX vehicles were consistently beating the Mini’s. This year, the X-Raid Mini’s were clearly the fastest vehicles in the rally. Competitor Nassar Al-Attiyah and Toyota has been very outspoken in favor of the restrictions. Al-Attiyah has said he will not return to Dakar if the rules don’t change. AlAttiyah feels he has an unfair advantage in the class.

Team Honda rider Ricky Brabec was back to defend his title at the rally. Brabec claimed his first career win at the event in 2020. Honda hadn’t had a Dakar Rally victory in over 30 years before Brabec’s finish. Gilles Lalay was the last Honda rider to make it to the top overall spot on the podium in 1989. Brabec’s win marked the first victory for the Americans at the rally. Coming off the 2020 adrenaline, Brabec came out swinging early in the rally winning the Prologue. Competition was tough, and there were other Honda riders also vying for the top spot. When the dust settled at the end, Argentinean Kevin Benavides beat Brabec by one spot to take the victory. Benavides won two stages and Brabec racked up three stage wins including the Prologue. Both riders took on the rally on Honda’s CRF-450.

-Kevin Benavides

The American effort continued at the Dakar Rally. Along with Ricky Brabec in the motorcycle class, Utah native and privateer Skyler Howes rode an impressive rally to finish 5th overall. Skyler even took one stage win during the rally. Kristen and Wayne Matlock both raced Polaris RZR Pro XP side-by-sides. This would be Polaris first factory effort at the rally. Unfortunately for Kristen, several problems plagued her early on and she was forced to withdraw from the SSV class and enter the “Dakar Experience” class. That class allowed Kristen to continue her racing efforts in the rally with co-driver Max Eddy Jr. Wayne Matlock pulled off a 12th place in the overall rankings at the end of the final stage. Seth Quintero, driving a vehicle in the newly formed lightweight class, was one of the shining stars for the Red Bull Junior Team. This year was Quintero’s first Dakar rally. Quintero took an impressive Stage 6 win, earning him a title in the record books as the youngest-ever stage winner at the rally. Quintero continued on to win Stage 11 later in the week. Quintero has already said he will be back next year.

ABOVE: Privateer Skyler Howes rode an impressive rally with a 5th overall finish in the moto class.

BELOW: This is Seth Quintero participated in his first Dakar Rally.

ABOVE: Stephane Peterhansel celebrates his 14th career victory, winning the 2021 Dakar Rally overall.

-Stephane Peterhansel

They call him Monsieur Dakar. Stephane Peterhansel came away with his 14th career win at the Dakar Rally. The Frenchman was on a role, leading the rally from Stage 2 on for the X-Raid Mini team. If you are keeping track, Peterhansel has racked up the most wins a single category. That’s a total of eight during this year’s event. Peterhansel won his first Dakar Rally 30 years ago on a Yamaha motorcycle. Peterhansel has eight overall victories in the car class and six in the bike category. At 55-years old, Peterhansel shows no signs of slowing down.