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The Dakar rally ends today in Lima, Peru, but it ended early this week for U.S. rally racer Ricky Brabec. Again, a first-ever Dakar win by a U.S. rider seemed close, and again bad luck killed that hope.
Brabec's Monster Energy Honda CRF450 Rally broke down Tuesday early in Stage Eight while he was the overall leader in the motorcycle division. Brabec's fourth Dakar thus became another year of disappointment, despite his progress in showing he can compete for the win.
"It’s heart-wrenching," he said. "Not easy. It was amazing to be on the top for the previous days."
With Brabec's withdrawal, Australian rider Toby Price on the Red Bull KTM Factory team took over the overall lead, despite suffering constant pain from a right wrist he injured just before the grueling rally. The pain meant he was struggling to maintain the pace, however, and he fell back to fifth place overall in Stage Nine. Nobody gets out of the Dakar totally unscathed.
