Ricky Brabec is the first American to win the Dakar Rally. Brabec finished the grueling 11-day rally riding a CRF450 motorcycle for Team Honda. 28-year old Brabec completed the 4,900-mile route with a riding time of 40 hours, 2 minutes and 36 seconds.
Ricky Brabec was in the overall lead by Stage 3 and never looked back. The Rally started January 5th 2020 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was moved to Saudi Arabia after running for several years in South America.
“I’m really excited to be here for Honda and for America as well,” Brabec said. “To be the only American to accomplish this goal is amazing. I think it’s really a dream come true. Now we’ve got to set our goals higher and accomplish more…. It was a big, tough race. A lot of kilometers. The team worked great together. The riders were good and the whole team worked well together so I’m really happy. The bikes were really good. We are all here. We are all happy and safe. That was the first goal. I can’t thank everyone enough – Honda, Monster and every one of the sponsors behind us. Thank you all so much.”
Casey Currie also claimed a victory at Dakar in the SSV class for Can-Am. This is Currie’s second year competing in the Rally.
Photos courtesy: Honda and Can-Am
