VOLUME 63 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2026 P75
48 hours by this stage. The
final special stage featured two
timed sections separated by a
liaison, with riders first tackling
technical mountain valley tracks
before switching to a faster
route along the Red Sea coast
-
line en route to the finish line at
the Yanbu
bivouac.
Brabec set a strong pace
early, but, when faced with a
fork in the road, Brabec chose
the wrong path just seven
kilometers from the finish line.
The time lost amounted to three
minutes and 22 seconds, cost
-
ing him the coveted Bedouin
Trophy
by just two seconds. It
was the closest finish of any
class in the 48-year history of
the Dakar Rally.
"On the final stage, a quite
confusing note led me to
12, and finally second to young
Spanish teammate Edgar Canet
on the 13th and final stage.
Tensions flared after the 11th
stage, when it was revealed
Brabec had deliberately slowed
to give himself a better start
position for stage 12. Benavides
and the factory KTM team were
none too impressed, with the Ar
-
gentine saying, "I don't care what
they
[Honda] do. I will beat them."
Brabec made the most of the
tactic, storming to the stage 12
win by two minutes and 43 sec-
onds over Benavides and setting
himself
up for the final push to
Victory Lane.
However, the drama of the
final day will go down in Dakar
lore. Brabec and Co. had been
white-knuckle racing for over
Benji Melot is overcome
after taking the win he
craved for so long in the
Original By Motul category
for solo riders with zero
crew support.
46 ROSS BRANCH
8TH RALLY GP
"We've finished the Dakar, and
it was a tough rally for us," Ross
Branch said. "It didn't go the way we
wanted, and we were aiming to fight
at the front, but that's the Dakar—it
can change at any moment. Despite
the challenges, the team has been
incredible throughout. The bike per-
formed really well, and I can't thank
everyone enough for their hard work
and support."
MYOWNRACE
