Ricky Brabec already smells the Dakar victory: ‘It’s close and I would say it was my best ride of the rally’

Ricky Brabec already smells the Dakar victory: ‘It’s close and I would say it was my best ride of the rally’

There it is, the almost certain winner of the 2024 Rally Dakar winner: Ricky Brabec. The Honda rider was super excited to finish another stage of the competition in great shape, after being second. He has now more then 10 minutes of gap over Ross Branch, and considered this to be his best performance so far.

Right after the Stage have come to an end – when it comes to the final and set results – Brabec spoke about his day and how he counted on the help from his teammates to help him to get the best possible result: ‘It’s close. I opened the whole day by myself and I was expecting my teammate [Jose Ignacio] Nacho [Cornejo] to catch me, but unfortunately he had a little issue. Then I was waiting for my teammate Adrien for him to grab some bonus time. I know Ross [Branch] is pushing hard today and I don’t know what the results are so far from the stage, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be me, Adrien and Ross as the top 3 tomorrow’.

So far Brabec considers this to be his best performance at the competition: ‘We’ll see what happens, but there’s still one stage to go. I would say it was my best ride of the rally. On the last 100 km, I went really slowly just to get here and wait for my teammate, but I made no mistakes today. I put my head down and I got to the finish. The first goal on the Dakar is always to make it to the rest day. Obviously, you have to make it day by day, so the first goal is essentially to make it day by day, but after you make it through the first day, you say I want to make it through the second day and then you want to make it to the rest day’.

The Honda rider highlighted the big effort it is go get to compete at such competition: ‘Once you make it to the rest day your next goal is to make it to the finish. If you finish the Dakar, that’s a win. It’s gnarly, the Dakar’s not easy, especially for the bikes because we’re up at three in the morning and we’re riding all morning, we’re riding all day and we’re getting back to the bivouac late. But finishing the Dakar is a win in my book and if you can win the Dakar it’s legendary. We’ll go back to the bivouac, we’ll talk to the team and we’ll push on for tomorrow’.

And concluded: ‘There are so many bushes out there; there are none right here on the video, but these bushes have thorns that are very long, like cats’ claws. I got one right here on the first day and I had to see the medical team and get it cut out of my arm, but the thorns reach out and grab you so easily. To not have a ripped jersey at the end of the Dakar is difficult, you can’t miss the bushes’.

O conteúdo Ricky Brabec already smells the Dakar victory: ‘It’s close and I would say it was my best ride of the rally’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.