19 Jan 2024

Seventh overall for Luciano Benavides at 2024 Dakar Rally

Luciano Benavides has battled through 12 stages of intense racing, totalling over 50 hours against the clock, to finish the 2024 Dakar Rally in an excellent seventh place. Completing the final stage strongly as third-fastest, the FR 450 Rally rider was pleased with his performance throughout the event and has enjoyed his time at the Dakar.

This year’s Dakar Rally culminated in a relatively shorter final stage, totalling 328 kilometres in a loop through the rocky desert around Yanbu. The stage featured a 175-kilometre timed special, offering competitors a sprint to the finish line. As the fourth rider to enter the special, Benavides immediately got his head down and pushed hard right from the beginning. Coming in just over one minute behind the eventual stage winner, the 28-year-old secured a strong third-place result for the final stage to round out his 2024 Dakar campaign on a high.

In what was an incredibly testing 46th edition of the Dakar, covering over 7,800 kilometres through the varied terrain of the Saudi Arabian desert, Benavides stayed strong to put in consistent results every day, which ultimately paid off and earned him a top-10 finish. The Argentinian secured three runner-up stage results, as well as consistently placing within the top 10, demonstrating his impressive endurance and pace on his Husqvarna Factory Racing machine.

Luciano Benavides: “That was one of the toughest Dakars I have ever done, with so many hours on the bike every day and such technical stages, but I loved it. It’s been really positive though, of course we know what we need to work on now, but I’m happy with how I have performed and how hard the team has worked. I’m really happy to have finished in the top three on a few stages as it shows I do have the speed and pace. I pushed hard and gave it my all every day, so I’m looking forward to relaxing now and preparing for the rest of the year.”

Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager: “Luciano pushed for the whole race and didn’t give up, even after the set-back of receiving a 15-minute penalty for changing his engine last week. He has been so motivated every day to stay in the fight and he took every stage as it came. We know he is really fast – he’s shown some incredible pace the last two weeks and hopefully this year he can show everyone that he is a guy we can count on. We’re really looking forward to the rest of the year.”

2024 Dakar Rally – Stage 12 Provisional Classification

1. Kevin Benavides (KTM) 1:48:40
2. Toby Price (KTM) 1:49:40
3. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 1:49:54
4. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 1:50:05
5. Diego Gamaliel Llanos (KTM) 1:51:54

2024 Dakar Rally – Provisional Overall Classification [After Stage 12]

1. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 51:30:08
2. Ross Branch (Hero) 51:41:01
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 51:42:33
4. Kevin Benavides (KTM) 52:08:56
5. Toby Price (KTM) 52:15:36
…
7. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 52:23:39