Dakar 2024: Nacho Cornejo Wins Stage 4, Honda Takes Overall Lead from Hero MotoSport

With Honda factory rider Nacho Cornejo claiming his second stage win of the year, the standings were drastically changed on the fourth stage of the Dakar Rally. The 299-kilometre special was a nail-biter between the factory riders from Honda and Ross Branch and Joan Barreda of Hero. The only KTM rider to finish in the top ten was defending champion Kevin Benavides.

Second place went to another Honda rider, Ricky Brabec, while third place went to Benavides. The overall rankings for the motorcycle category were also affected by this shakeup. With a one-minute advantage, Nacho Cornejo has passed Ross Branch and is now in first place. In terms of overall standings, Branch is in second place, with Brabec, Kevin Benavides, and Van Beveren making up the top five.

Dakar 2024: Stage 4 Motorcycle Result

Thanks to his outstanding performance, Cornejo won two stages this edition and eight stages in total at the Dakar. Cornejo took the lead at the end of the day, which significantly changed the overall standings and established a competitive tone for the rest of the rally.

Also Read: Dakar 2024: KTM's Kevin Benavides Wins Stage 3, Hero MotoSports Keep Overall Lead

Beginning the race, Ignacio Cornejo of Honda was in second place, while Ross Branch of Hero MotoSports gained first place at the first intermediate point. But towards the end of the Special Stage, things changed dramatically. Cornejo, who showed remarkable speed, passed Branch, who had an incident that twisted his handlebar, and the lead changed hands multiple times during the race. Because of this occurrence, Branch lost precious time and had to give up his three-minute and eleven-second lead.

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Dakar 2024: Hero MotoSports at Dakar

The action heated up in the 4th stage as Cornejo made a move to take the lead from Ross Branch. Despite Cornejo's twisted handlebar, Branch still managed to finish fourth, 4 minutes and 26 seconds behind. At the moment, Ross Branch is in second place overall, trailing just by a minute and fifteen seconds. Even though he dropped a spot to 12th in the standings, Joan Barreda Bort was still a formidable opponent, ending in eighth place. An additional level of excitement has been added to the ongoing Dakar Rally by shuffling the rankings.

Ross Branch said: "Stage 4 was also a tough one. Navigation was tricky this morning, so just took it easy and made sure I got everything right. I had a small crash at around 40 kms, but I was okay. We pretty much all stayed together until refuel. And towards the last, around 20 kms before the finish I had one more small crash. I think I should focus on staying on the bike for the next week! But otherwise, everything's good today."

The next stage is sure to be exciting, with a difficult 118-kilometer course across a sea of dunes and precipitous drops in average speed. But the participants face a tough challenge in the shape of long 527 km of road stretches, which will surely exhaust them before the unique stage ever starts. An endurance-testing leg in the Dakar Rally is set to take place in a combination of dunes, varied terrains, and long road stretches.