Monster Energy Honda Team takes the leadership in the Desafío Ruta 40 with a second stage one-two

A very complicated Desafío Ruta 40 second stage turned out positively for the Monster Energy Honda Team. Kevin Benavides and Paulo Gonçalves finished in the top two positions both on the day and in the overall standings.

 It was a gruelling, tough day between Villa Unión in La Rioja and Tinogasta in Catamarca. If the harshness of the track – with some very trial-like zones – was not bad enough, riders also had to deal with some extremely difficult navigation which required a very sharp eye to find some of the hidden waypoints along the route.

 Kevin Benavides went off like a bat out of hell this morning and had soon caught up with team-mate Paulo Gonçalves. At kilometre 15 the pair had a tough job finding a waypoint but once back on course the two rode together for practically the rest of the stage. After opening the track for the greater part of the day, Kevin made a scorching finish with a 3’19” advantage over his Portuguese team-mate from the Monster Energy Honda Team. The two made it back with the Honda CRF450 RALLYs, problem-free, to the thermal complex in La Aguadita and are now ready to restart tomorrow, bound for Belén, in what looks to be another taxing stage with a lot of navigation in the dunes.

 Ricky Brabec got another taste of just how tough the navigation can be in these stages. He made it back to the finish-line in eighth place. Michael Metge had an even more complicated day falling victim to a electrical issue which saw him delayed in his arrival back at Tinogasta.