won by Hero Motosports rider Ross Branch ahead of Honda ’ s Ricky Brabec . “ I felt very comfortable on the bike and when I got to the refuelling I managed to catch Joan ( Barreda )”, Schareina said on his return to the bivouac . “ I think that confidence led me to relax and that ’ s why I crashed . I ’ m fine though morally hurt because I was feeling very good after the last few rallies . The medical report shows I have broken my wrist but I am more affected emotionally by the crash .” Honda blasted back in Stage 2 with not only José Ignacio “ Nacho ” Cornejo taking the stage win , but the entirety of its remaining riders comfortably sitting within the top 10 . With a new bonus system coming into play for 2024 , competitors within 15 seconds of the opening rider will benefit too and with 6 ’ 23 ” available today , Cornejo made the most of this despite a small crash , to accumulate 4 ’ 14 in bonuses sharing this with Branch and Brabec . Stage three finally saw KTM show some vestige of the brand ’ s former glory with Kevin Benavides topping the timesheets for victory , but he was followed by a triple threat of Honda riders to the finish along with overall rally leader , Hero Motosports Ross Branch . Starting stage three from 19th , due to losing
Toby Price
several minutes from a small mistake on the previous day ’ s special , Benavides knew he had to deliver his best over the course of day three to make up time on his rivals . Using his experience and speed , the reigning Dakar Rally Champion put in a superb ride over the mixed terrain , immediately slotting into second on the timesheets at the first checkpoint , and carried that momentum to the finish . Securing his first stage win of the 2024 Dakar so far , Kevin ’ s result elevates him to sixth in the provisional overall standings . Stage three proved to be an interesting one for Kevin Benavides ’ teammate , Price . Despite
34 KIWI RIDER