Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1531664
Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, otherwise known simply as Nacho Cornejo, held up Hero Motorsports honors by tak - ing seventh overall in the 2025 Dakar after the team's lead rider and current W2RC Champion Ross Branch crashed out of the rally at high speed on Stage Four. Cornejo's race was a slow build-up, gathering speed as the event wore on to go from ninth on Stage One to sixth by the rally's end thanks to a podium on Stage Six. "We were in the mix with the leading pack, but the early time losses ultimately put us in sev - enth place overall," Cornejo said. "While it's not the result we were aiming for, we're proud of our resilience and determination." Arguably the rider of Dakar 2025 was not Daniel Sanders but his 19-year-old teammate Edgar Canet. The Spanish rookie, part of the steamrolling factory KTM team, was compet - ing in the Rally2 category and crushed the field to win by over 33 minutes from Austria's To - bias Ebster (KTM) and Romain Dumontier (Hon). Canet even managed second place overall on Stage Seven to teammate Sanders, marking the Spaniard as a future giant of the sport. "We finished the Dakar Rally; we made it!" Canet said. "I'm super happy to have got P1 in Rally2, it's a dream come true, and I am really pleased for the team, too." Austrian Tobias Ebster took ninth overall and second in the Rally2 division, with Slovakia's Stefan Svitko (KTM), competing in his 15th straight Dakar Rally, taking 10th overall. Special mention also needs to go to Michael Docherty, the South African taking the Stage 10 and 12 victories, the first for his country since the great Alfie Cox triumphed in the 2003 Paris-Dakar. Docherty would come home 14th overall on his BAS World KTM. The final American to make the finish, Jacob Argubright (Honda) came away with 22nd overall, battling persistent ma - chine troubles that dropped him out of the top 20. Mason Klein again showed flashes of speed on the factory Kove, his best result being a very commendable seventh overall on Stage Six, but that's as good as it got as the Kove's engine cried enough on Stage Seven, drop - ping the American out of the race for the second year in a row on the exact same stage as in 2024. Other high-profile retirees in - cluded Branch, Kevin Benavides and Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), who crashed out at high speed on Stage Eight. In the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship standings, Sand - ers jumps out to an early lead on 38 points ahead of Schareina on 30 and Van Beveren on 24, although it is not confirmed if any of these riders will compete in the full championship, as is often the case. Round two of five in the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship will be the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, held in the United Arab Emirates on February 21- 27, 2025. CN OVERALL 1. Daniel Sanders (KTM) 2. Tosha Schareina (Hon) 3. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) 4. Luciano Benavides (KTM) 5. Ricky Brabec (Hon) 6. Skyler Howes (Hon) 22. Jacob Argubright (Hon) ROUND 1 / JANUARY 3-17, 2025 BISHA TO SHUBAYTAH, SAUDI ARABIA OFF-ROAD I FIM WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIP / DAKAR RALLY P86 Skyler Howes and his magnificent 'mo came home sixth overall but admits there's work to be done if he's to become a Dakar winner.