The riders from Team HRC have finished an important rally in preparation for the Dakar Rally 2017 – the Atacama Rally – with Argentinean rider Kevin Benavides on the rostrum, runner-up in the final stage.
Kevin Benavides was the best finisher among the components of Team HRC with a podium finish in the Rally Atacama 2016 after a high-speed week in the Chilean desert. The Argentinean rider, on the Honda CRF450 RALLY, made it onto the podium after finishing second in the fifth and final stage in the dunes of Copiapó.
Teammate Paulo Gonçalves started out first after yesterday’s victory, but the final stage didn’t favour the Portuguese rider’s bid to retain yesterday’s third position in today’s final standings. In spite of opening the track throughout most of the day, the rider saw how various adversaries closed in on him over the course of the stage. Paulo goes home with an overall fourth place after Benavides whittled down the two-minute gap between the stablemates.
American rider Ricky Brabec wraps up another race with the Team HRC squad and continues to gain experience and hone his navigational skills on the Honda CRF450 RALLY. Ricky comes away from his maiden Atacama Rally with seventh overall position.
Team Honda South America Rally Team also featured in this, the fourth date of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with Argentinean Franco Caimi, who relied on the support of Team HRC. Caimi finished the rally just behind Brabec on the final table.
