Photo Galleries

The Craziest Motorcycle Racing Photos From Dakar

American Ricky Brabec scores his second Dakar win in the Rally GP class.

Updated: January 26, 2024

Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren of the Monster Energy Honda Team decides to light up his tires the old-fashioned way—with pavement. He finished third overall.A.S.O/Julien Delfosse

The 2024 Dakar Rally, by the numbers:

2024 course length, in kilometers: 7,967

In miles: 4,951

Margin of victory by Rally GP winner Ricky Brabec, in minutes: 10.53

Overall time of Brabec’s win, in hours: 51:30:08

Total number of vehicles to complete Dakar 2024, out of 340: 239 Motorcycle finishers, out of 132 entrants: 96

Quad finishers, out of 10 entrants: 7

Truck finishers, out of 47 entrants: 21

Number of Hondas on winners’ podium: 2

Number of Indian motorcycles (Hero), for the first time ever: 1

Number of KTMs: 0

Historically, Dakar is a questionable activity to put humans and machines through, in terms of safety, endurance, and engineering. Even a couple of additional regional armed conflicts weren’t about to change Dakar’s plans.

Building on the 2023 edition, 2024 saw the 46th edition of the Dakar put drivers, co-pilots, riders, and their respective machines through a crucible of heat, cold, sand dunes, and rocks. The fifth event to be held in Saudi Arabia, it began in AlUla (not a typo), along the shores of the Red Sea, passing through thousands of dunes in the Empty Quarter before returning to last year’s starting point of Yanbu, south of AlUla.

Monster Energy Honda rider American Ricky Brabec won a second title to complement his first title in 2020. Botswana native Ross Branch gave Indian bike maker Hero its first Dakar podium, a first for any Indian motorcycle. Dakar die-hard Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren took a well-deserved third place for the first time in his career, also aboard a Monster Energy Honda.

On a sad note, Spanish motorcyclist Carles Falcón perished on January 15, of injuries sustained on January 7, during Stage 2. He was 45 years old.

Enjoy the pictures.

Still printed on scrolls of paper, maps give the barest idea of what awaits. José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo Florimo, of the Monster Energy Honda team, reviews the route.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Jean-Loup Lepan heads into hardship during Stage 1, between AlUla and Al Henakiyah, Saudi Arabia.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

Bradley Cox (18), of the BAS World KTM Racing team, does some drifting in the desert.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

Rule 1: Do not jump the dunes. Emanuel Gyenes of the Autonet Motorcycle Team KTM.A.S.O/Eric Vargiolu

Juraj Varga on the Varga Motorsport Team Yamaha, Quad, duets with Jérôme Bas of Team Universal Ride KTM during Stage 2.A.S.O/Frederic Le Floc

Joan Barreda Bort of the Hero Motorsports Team, Rally, works on his thousand-yard stare.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

Jérémie Gerber’s TLDRacing KTM catches air during Stage 2.A.S.O/Antonin Vincent

Romain Dumontier’s Team Dumontier Racing Husqvarna powers through Stage 3. He finished 12th overall.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Luciano Benavides stretches before manning his Husqvarna Factory Racing Husqvarna during Stage 4. He would finish fourth overall.A.S.O/Julien Delfosse

Everyday riders. Camels, as seen from above during Stage 4.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Guillaume Chollet of the Xraids Experience Team KTM crests a dune during the Stage 4.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Libor Podmol of Podmol Dakar Team Husqvarna shows off a shiner and stitches after Stage 3.A.S.O/Julien Delfosse

Creating rooster tails of sand is Skyler “Mustache Man” Howes on the Monster Energy Honda Team Honda during Stage 5.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Long-exposure shot at night of trucks by the bivouac during Stage 6.A.S.O/Marcelo Machado

Not much of a “rest day.” A mechanic tends to repairs on the Wevers Sport Taurus T3 Max in the Challenger class.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

Ripples, dude. Toby Price of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM in action during Stage 8.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

All roads lead somewhere, hopefully the finish. Landscape during the Somewhere between Al Duwadimi and Hail, Saudi Arabia, Stage 8.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

Dakar Classic brings out Porsches of a different sort, like Tomasz Staniszewski and Stanislaw Postawka’s P-Rally Porsche 944 (or perhaps 924?), Stage 9.A.S.O/Aurelien Vialatte

Anthony Fabre, of Team ARF, guides his KTM through the powdered sand of Stage 9.A.S.O/J. Lindini

Shake a leg. Diego Gamaliel Llanos’ Xraids Experience KTM Moto during Stage 10.A.S.O/Florent Gooden

Whatever the problem, it’s surely electrical in nature. Jun Cai Gang diagnoses problems on his Arctic Leopard Factory Racing Arctic Leopard electric dirt bike in the Mission 1000 class, Stage 10.A.S.O/Charly Lopez

“Rim might be salvageable.” Romain Dumas’ Rebellion Racing Toyota Hilux during Stage 11.A.S.O/Julien Delfosse

Jean-Loup Lepan and Jérémie Gerber at the Stage 12 finish line. They finished 14th and 48th overall, respectively.A.S.O/Antonin Vincent

Ladies and gentlemen, your top three Dakar 2024 Rally GP finishers. In order, Ross Branch (second), Ricky Brabec (first), and Adrien Van Beveren (third).Honda