RICKY BRABEC LEADS THE WAY
IN DAKAR RALLY
N
ot since Danny LaPorte first did it in 1992 has an
American led the field in the motorcycle division of the
Dakar Rally, but Southern California native Ricky Brabec
is doing just that at the 2019 event. The Monster Energy
Honda factory rider started the Dakar Rally strong, run-
ning in the top three, and after slipping back to seventh on
Stage 3, the 27-year-old roared back into the overall lead
on Stage 4 with a commanding win in the longest special
of the rally at 251 miles. Since then, Brabec has been
contending for the overall lead, going back and forth with
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Pablo Quintanilla. During
Monday's Stage 7 (January 14), Brabec finished a steady
third on the day, but gained valuable time on Quintanilla
to regain the lead. The American now has a gap of nearly
eight minutes on second-place rider Toby Price.
"I needed a good stage to get me back on top," said
Brabec. "And tomorrow hopefully is a little bit easier
navigation than today, but you can never be too sure until
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Monster Energy Honda's Ricky
Brabec is the first American to lead
the motorcycle field in the Dakar
Rally since Danny LaPorte in 1992.
Can he hang on to win it?
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MONSTER
ENERGY
HONDA/RALLYZONE
EDOARDO
BAUER
Yamaha's
Adrien Van
Beveren is
second overall
after seven of
10 stages.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
YAMALUBE
YAMAHA
RALLY
