Luciano Benavides won the Dakar Rally in a dramatic finish, beating Ricky Brabec by just 2 seconds, the smallest winning margin in Dakar history. The turning point came when Brabec made a navigation mistake only 7 km before the finish, allowing Benavides to snatch victory at the very last moment.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing celebrated wildly, while Monster Energy Honda HRC rider Ricky Brabec accepted the heartbreaking loss with grace. For the Argentinian Benavides, this was the first Dakar Rally win of his career, following in the footsteps of his brother Kevin Benavides, who won in 2021 and 2023.
Earlier in the rally, Daniel Sanders looked unstoppable, with only Tosha Schareina close to challenging him. However, a 10-minute penalty for Schareina and a serious shoulder injury for Sanders completely changed the title fight. This opened the door for Brabec to take control and challenge strongly for another Dakar victory.
KTM stayed in the fight as Luciano Benavides emerged as their new leader. He took the overall lead in stage 8 and remained close to Brabec throughout the final days. Brabec tried a clever strategy by holding back late in stage 11, putting Benavides under pressure heading into the final stage.
Brabec began the last stage with a comfortable 3 minutes 20 seconds lead, and victory seemed certain. But at km 98.4, a small navigation error forced him off course and cost precious time. Benavides finished cleanly, overtaking Brabec in the standings by just 2 seconds, creating one of the most unbelievable endings in Dakar history.
KTM also enjoyed success in the Rally2 class, where Slovenian rider Toni Mulec completed a strong comeback to win, finishing 4 minutes 37 seconds ahead of American Preston Campbell, who still earned the top rookie award.
In the Original by Motul class, French rider Benjamin Melot finally claimed victory after narrowly missing out last year. He won by 14 minutes 32 seconds over Spain’s Josep Pedró, completing an unforgettable Dakar Rally for KTM and its riders.