Today was the second half of the 48-hour Chrono stage in the 2024 Dakar Rally. Yesterday, riders were to ride as far as they could into the Saudi Empty Quarter before 4:00 p.m. This morning, they resumed racing. For the 12 riders up front, it meant a very long day followed by a somewhat shorter day.
Riders in the middle of the pack had two more equally divided days of riding. The rider who mastered both segments best was Adrien Van Beveren. He had the best time yesterday and held on to his advantage over his Honda teammate Ricky Brabec.
Second place, however, was good enough for Brabec to assume the crown of overall leader. He surpassed Hero’s Ross Branch and now holds an advantage of less than a minute. Many riders had trouble with poor fuel range and reported that they had to find a balance between fuel conservation and speed in the deep sand.
Sadly, Mason Klein finally lost his battle with chronic mechanical issues. He survived yesterday’s long trek only to stop today with undisclosed motor problems. That follows yesterday’s withdrawal of Skyler Howes. Joan Barreda also dropped out. Jacob Arguebright, on the other hand, had his best stage of the rally so far. He found the sand to his liking and was able to assist his DUUST teammate, Konrad Dabrowski on the course.
Ricky Brabec: “There was a lot of time in the dunes, but I didn’t mind that as the challenge of going for many hours and kilometers made it a lot of fun. Camping with the boys was a blast. We had a really good time last night, although we didn’t get much sleep.
The stage was 100% dune, but it was really cool, and I hope they do something like this again. Rocks and open deserts are a bit better for me, and with the dunes, I really pushed, but I also played it safe towards the end as I didn’t want to open stage seven. I’m in a good place going into next week, so let’s see what happens in the next six days.”
Skyler Howes: “I’m gutted to have to exit the rally early. After a less-than-ideal start, I was looking 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, the 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. Sometimes, 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 adversity can be the best teacher, one I’m familiar with.”
Jacob Argubright: “Been a long 3 days In the empty quarter! I had to start dead last on stage 5 because I had not started stage 4, which turned out to be a blessing because I was able to help my Duust Co teammate @konrad_dabrowski537 with some electrical problems on his bike, and from there, we limped it in till pretty much dark in so he could continue the race.
After such a slow day, I started yet again with Konrad on stage 6, called the Chrono stage, which took place over 2 days of pure dunes. I rode my ass off surfing dunes passing, I think, around 100 people, running out of gas twice on the first day and once today, and still had my best stage finish of P14. Really stoked, considering I don’t think I ride that well the dunes, but I definitely felt great both days. Ready for a nice rest day and back at it for the second half!”
Here are the Dakar Rally standings after Stage 6 in a more readable format:
Stage 6 Results:
1. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team – 07H 57′ 29”
2. Toby Price, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 00H 04′ 13”
3. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team + 00H 05′ 02”
4. Daniel Sanders, Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing + 00H 06′ 55”
5. Ross Branch, Hero Motosports Team Rally + 00H 09′ 40”
6. Luciano Benavides, Husqvarna Factory Racing + 00H 10′ 39”
7. Kevin Benavides, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 00H 16′ 05”
8. Stefan Svitko, Slonaft Rally Team + 00H 21′ 19”
9. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, Monster Energy Honda Team + 00H 21′ 49”
10. Jeanloup LePan, Duust Rally Team + 00H 26′ 24”
14. Jacob Argubright, Duust Rally Team + 00H 42′ 52”
63. Kyle McCoy, American Rally Originals + 04H 15′ 40”
84. Weston Carr, HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing + 06H 24′ 37”
Standings after Stage 6 A&B:
1. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team – 27H 11′ 21”
2. Ross Branch, Hero Motosports Team Rally + 00H 00′ 51”
3. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team + 00H 09′ 21”
4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, Monster Energy Honda Team + 00H 14′ 14”
5. Toby Price, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 00H 27′ 00”
6. Kevin Benavides, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing + 00H 28′ 33”
7. Daniel Sanders, Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing + 00H 35′ 50”
8. Luciano Benavides, Husqvarna Factory Racing + 00H 47′ 26” (+ 00H 15′ 00”)
9. Stefan Svitko, Slonaft Rally Team + 01H 07′ 42”
10. Jeanloup LePan, Duust Rally Team + 01H 31′ 42”
70. Kyle McCoy, American Rally Originals + 13H 51′ 06”
81. Weston Carr, HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing + 16H 04′ 50” (+ 00H 18′ 00”)
102. Jacob Argubright, Duust Rally Team + 52H 15′ 03”
