Ventura secures second Dakar stage win
Dakar Rally in Saudi ArabiaMonster Energy Honda HRC’s Martim Ventura secured a hard-fought stage victory on Stage 11 of the Dakar Rally, marking the rookie’s second stage win of this year’s event.
As the sun rose over Bisha, the Dakar once again delivered drama in the fiercely contested Rally2 category. Riders faced a demanding 346 km special stage, where outright speed was essential through the fast opening sections before the pace shifted on the rocky tracks. There, survival and bike control became the priority as conditions punished even the smallest mistakes.
Preston Campbell began the day leading the Rally2 standings by just 3’23”. After suffering a couple of falls in the dunes yesterday aboard his Honda CRF450RX RALLY, the American knew concentration would be crucial across today’s punishing special stage, with his closest rival Toni Mulec poised to challenge. Campbell brought his bike home in fourth place, but was forced to surrender the overall lead to Mulec, the gap now standing at just 2’27”. Despite the setback, the laid-back youngster remained unfazed, fully aware that reclaiming the top spot over the final two days will require an all-out push.
Martim Ventura has endured a truly action-packed Dakar in his rookie campaign, experiencing the full mental and physical demands of the rally. Gradually climbing back up the standings after dropping to ninth overall, the young Portuguese rider returned to the Rally2 podium yesterday and focused on consolidating his position, Ventura delivered a strong performance on the sandy sections, initially finishing just one second behind stage winner Toni Mulec. However, after encountering issues with his navigation tablet during the stage, Ventura was awarded time compensation, promoting him to the top of the results and securing his second Dakar stage victory. The result gives him valuable breathing room in third overall, with a 20-minute advantage over fourth place.
With the Red Sea now on the horizon, both Monster Energy Honda HRC riders will face a long 720 km stage tomorrow as the rally heads back to its start city of Yanbu. The penultimate stage promises to be decisive, with the Rally2 podium positions still very much up for grabs.
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Preston didn’t feel entirely comfortable on the bike today and lost the overall lead, but the gap is very small. Tomorrow, he has a great chance to make up time and arrive in Yanbu back in the lead. Martim was incredibly fast today. He ran into some issues with the road book, which was replaced at the refuelling zone, and he went on to take the stage victory in the Rally2 category - his second win of this year’s Dakar.
The bike has proved strong across all types of terrain and we couldn’t be happier with the performances of both riders on their first Dakar.
Preston didn’t feel entirely comfortable on the bike today and lost the overall lead, but the gap is very small. Tomorrow, he has a great chance to make up time and arrive in Yanbu back in the lead. Martim was incredibly fast today. He ran into some issues with the road book, which was replaced at the refuelling zone, and he went on to take the stage victory in the Rally2 category - his second win of this year’s Dakar.
The bike has proved strong across all types of terrain and we couldn’t be happier with the performances of both riders on their first Dakar.
One more day, one day closer to the finish. I’m super happy to be here again. The fact was that today was super chilled, what was more difficult was the liaisons, but the stage was super fast, super fun. The classification could be a bit better for me if we hadn’t had the problem in the middle of the race, but I’m happy. It's a dream race, dream team and my second stage victory of the Dakar, so I'm very happy.
One more day, one day closer to the finish. I’m super happy to be here again. The fact was that today was super chilled, what was more difficult was the liaisons, but the stage was super fast, super fun. The classification could be a bit better for me if we hadn’t had the problem in the middle of the race, but I’m happy. It's a dream race, dream team and my second stage victory of the Dakar, so I'm very happy.
Tomorrow is going to be a big push to get the lead back. We don’t know how it will go but I’ll do my best, push my maximum, make up some lost time and hopefully get a good result. My first goal coming here was to just finish and as the race evolved, your goals change and you’re close to the win, so you want to win. I’ll just have a good couple of last days, if the win comes that’s great and make it to the finish.
Tomorrow is going to be a big push to get the lead back. We don’t know how it will go but I’ll do my best, push my maximum, make up some lost time and hopefully get a good result. My first goal coming here was to just finish and as the race evolved, your goals change and you’re close to the win, so you want to win. I’ll just have a good couple of last days, if the win comes that’s great and make it to the finish.
Rally2 Result - Stage 11
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | VENTURA Martim | 84 | POR | Honda HRC | Honda | 03:16:13 |
2 | MULEC Toni | 16 | SLO | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM | + 02:22 |
3 | DOCHERTY Michael | 14 | RSA | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM | + 02:27 |
4 | CAMPBELL Preston | 85 | USA | Honda HRC | Honda | + 08:12 |
5 | LUCCI Paolo | 29 | ITA | RSMOTO HRC Race Service | Honda | + 08:34 |
6 | PEDRÓ Josep | 44 | SPA | Pedrega Team | Husqvarna | + 12:10 |
7 | DABROWSKI Konrad | 26 | POL | Duust Rally Team | KTM | + 13:05 |
8 | SANTOS Bruno | 35 | POR | BS FRUTAS PATRICIA PILAR | Husqvarna | + 14:14 |
9 | ERDENEBILEG Khaliunbold | 57 | MNG | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM | + 14:26 |
10 | MELOT Benjamin | 39 | FRA | Team Esprit KTM | KTM | + 15:41 |
Rally2 Provisional Standings After Stage 11
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MULEC Toni | 16 | SLO | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM | 47:25:26 |
2 | CAMPBELL Preston | 85 | USA | Honda HRC | Honda | + 02:27 |
3 | VENTURA Martim | 84 | POR | Honda HRC | Honda | + 01:39:35 |
4 | DABROWSKI Konrad | 26 | POL | Duust Rally Team | KTM | + 02:01:43 |
5 | JUCIUS Nerimantas | 28 | LTU | HT Rally Raid | Honda | + 02:13:29 |
6 | ERDENEBILEG Khaliunbold | 57 | MNG | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM | + 02:23:30 |
7 | SANTOS Bruno | 35 | POR | BS FRUTAS PATRICIA PILAR | Husqvarna | + 02:55:47 |
8 | MELOT Benjamin | 39 | FRA | Team Esprit KTM | KTM | + 03:24:26 |
9 | PEDRÓ Josep | 44 | SPA | Pedrega Team | Husqvarna | + 03:34:34 |
10 | ENGEL Milan | 21 | CZE | Moto Racing Group - MRG | KTM | + 03:45:53 |
