was, he didn't slow enough and
still finished third, meaning he
lost valuable time with no real
benefit to his Stage Nine starting
position.
The former factory Yamaha
pilot sits third overall, still very
much within a shout of taking a
first career Dakar podium, but
he's 11:26 behind Brabec.
"It was a tough day but a
good one as I finally opened
almost 400km of the stage," Van
Beveren said after Stage Nine.
"Kevin [Benavides] was follow
-
ing and he was a good support
as there were moments where it
was really, really difficult. I tried
my best and to be consistent so
I'm happy with how the stage
went."
As the rally wore on, it became
clear Mason Klein would have
trouble reaching the finish on
his unproven Kove entry. The
young American endured numer
-
ous mechanical troubles and it
all came to a silent halt at the
48km-mark of the first half of
the marathon 48-Hour Chrono,
putting him out of what has
been a trying 2024 Dakar.
The 48-Hour Chrono also put
paid to Skyler Howes' hopes of
Dakar glory. The Utah man has,
by his own admission, not had a
great rally with fourth on Stage
Three, his best result of 2024.
Howes' factory Honda suffered a
terminal mechanical on the sec
-
ond half of the 48-Hour Chrono,
so he'll have to wait another year
to try for a first Dakar win.
"I'm gutted to have to exit the
rally early," Howes said. "After a
less-than-ideal start, I was look
-
ing forward to the Chrono stage
and the second week to claw
back the time that I lost in the
first couple of days.
"The issue that took me out
is nobody's fault, not mine,
mechanics or the team. When
you're pushing at the maximum
level for this many days, luck has
a big part to play, and yesterday,
I drew the short stick. Some-
times this happens in racing, and
all we can do is learn from it.
"Now, I'm looking forward to
the year ahead and focusing on
being better. Failure and adver-
sity can be the best teacher, one
I'm familiar with."
As for the remaining Ameri-
cans behind Brabec, Kyle McCoy
is 68th, Weston Carr lies 77th
and after taking his penalty for
not finishing Stage Three, Jacob
Argubright has put in some
excellent stage performances to
lie 92nd overall.
With three stages left, Brabec
is in the box seat for the win,
but it's far from over. Branch is
still snapping at his heels and
Van Beveren could still spring a
surprise.
CN
MOTORCYCLE OVERALL (After Stage 9)
1. Ricky Brabec (Hon) 40h 53:49
2. Ross Branch (Her) +07:09
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +11:26
4. Ignacio Cornejo (Hon) +13:46
5. Kevin Benavides (KTM) +28:12
VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P37
Botswanan Ross Branch
has been riding his
heart out, but Brabec is
slowly edging clear in
the overall.
