We have jumped into the last day of Dakar 2021 with Kevin Benavides’s 5’07” advantage over Sam Sunderland in general classification and it was the shortest special of the rally with only 200 km to cover.
Stage 11 winner Sam Sunderland opened the stage but being the pathfinder and the goal of covering a 5 minute deficit was too much. In the end Sunderland completed the day with P13 and evaporated hopes of a second title. However, British man’s 43rd Dakar Rally ended with a podium spot, 3rd overall.
Reigning champion Ricky Brabec started to the day in 6th order and he was only 7’13” behind Kevin Benavides overall. The American rode a fantastic day and completed the day on top but it was just not enough, he could only covered 2’17” against Kevin Benavides who finished the day with P2. With this results Ricky Brabec secured the 2nd position on the podium .
The overall leader after stage 11, Kevin Benavides had to fight against the pressure from KTM’s Sunderland and his team mate Brabec. The Argentinean rode a lightning pace especially against Brabec’s charging performance. He came in P2 by only falling 2’17” behind stage winner and secured his first ever Dakar title.
Kevin Benavides finished each stage from 1st to 12th with following results; P2, P24, P2, P14, P1, P15, P16, P5, P1, P3, P3 AND P2. He completed the 4,567 KM specials in 47H18’14”.
Stage Comments
Ricky Brabec “We came here for one thing and one thing only. We rode our a** off, made mistakes, learned from them but failed the mission. Let’s settle for the #2. The team did an excellent job and so did all the riders.“
Sam Sunderland “I gave my all at every chance and finished up the 3rd best guy. I knew there was a slight chance to do something good today and would have to do something really wrong to be off the podium. So, I went all in and ended up making a navigation error and loosing time but I’m happy I tried and grateful for all the support from my team over the past two weeks! Thanks for following along for the ride it’s been a hell of a journey!”
