The season’s main event is finally upon the Monster Energy Honda Team as the 2018 Dakar Rally kicks off this Saturday, 6th January in Lima. The squad will be aspiring to the top final positions on the final podium when the race closes in Cordoba.
Monster Energy Honda Team is poised to take the start of the 40th edition of the Dakar Rally, the most thrilling off-road event on the planet.
With almost 9,000 kilometres to cover, riders will speed their way across Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, starting out in the capital Lima, then on through La Paz to the final destination in Argentina’s auto industry capital, Córdoba.
The team today (Thursday) made it through the administrative and technical checks prior to the start. The five Honda CRF450 RALLYs are now closed in the parc ferme awaiting the moment of truth as the greatest challenge to man and machine gets underway. There will be no margin of error this time out with the team’s clear objective being an overall triumph.
Joan Barreda is fully fit and recovered from the left-arm injury which delayed his Dakar preparations. Despite everything, Joan has had a blistering year with victory in the Baja Aragón and the Vegas to Reno race. Barreda, according to the pundits, is one of the favourites to take the overall title.
Kevin Benavides is also on cracking form and fitness and arrives at the Dakar hungry to prove himself in this edition. Last year an untimely right wrist injury ruled the young Argentine rider from Salta out of the race. This year a fully-recovered Kevin has bounced back and proved to be unbeatable in the Desaf