Dakar 2024: Honda's Jose Ignacio Wins Stage 2, Hero MotoSports Maintains Overall Lead

The 2024 Dakar Rally has reached a fever pitch since the end of stage two, a punishing 463-kilometre time trial that put racers to the test. Honda factory rider Nacho Cornejo won the day's motorbike category, while Team Audi's Mr Dakar, the seasoned rally veteran Stephane Peterhansel, took home the hardware. After stage 2, the overall leader is Ross Branch of Hero MotoSports, despite the fact that Cornejo won for Honda. After the second stage, Pablo Quintanilla took third place while Luciano Benavides finished in second place.

Defending champion Kevin Benavides struggled mightily on stage two, finishing in 19th position and his teammate Toby Price finished in 17th. But Mason Klein, who was in contention for the top podium spot, had technical issues on his Kove around the 40-kilometre mark of the stage. Even Sherco rider Lorenzo had problems, which he encountered less than two hours after the stage began.

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Dakar 2024: Stage 2 Result

Luciano Benavides of Husqvarna, who was just named World Rally Raid Champion, crossed the finish line in hot pursuit of Nacho. After finishing the stage, the Argentinian rider was only five minutes and fifty-nine seconds behind Nacho of Honda. His fellow countryman and Honda rider Pablo Quintanilla lagged behind Nacho by an extra thirteen seconds. After four hours, thirty-one minutes, and four seconds, the Chilean rider crossed the finish line of the special stage.

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Dakar 2024: Hero MotoSports Maintains Overall Lead

The three remaining Hero riders rode well throughout the day. German rider Sebastian Buhler led the Hero pack and finished fourth, just missing a podium finish. After finishing the stage, Buhler was six minutes and forty-seven seconds behind Nacho.

Sebastian Buhler said: "Stage 2 was much more flowing, unlike the rocky and harsh terrains of yesterday. I had a lot of fun, but my body is a bit sore from my crash yesterday. I managed to ride well, and maintain a good rhythm all through the stage. I'm happy with how the bike performed, and also with my navigation - there were quite a lot of tricky points today. Now, let's go for Day 3!"

Stage 1 winner Ross Branch finished Stage 2 in eleventh place, holding a tenuous lead over the competition. With the help of nearly four minutes of bonuses, Branch finished today's special stage in four hours, thirty-six minutes, and ten seconds, after starting the race as the first rider. He did, however, find himself 11 minutes and 53 seconds behind the stage winner.

Ross Branch said: “Today was really tough. We had a lot of navigation to do, and it was super hard. I made a couple of mistakes in the morning, but thankfully a bunch of us regrouped around 100 kms, and we all rode together till refuel. We tried some different things, all to stay in the game. I lost a bit of time today, but then that's racing. Looking forward to tomorrow, yet another long stage ahead.”

Another extensive stage awaits, covering 733 kilometres from Al Duwadimi to Al Salamiya, including 438 kilometres devoted to timed competition.