Hour chrono

The Monster Energy Honda Team: José Ignacio Cornejo cemented his status as one of the favourites for the top step in Yanbu as he put in a flawless ride in the second week of the Dakar 2024.

The Monster Energy Honda Team riders were refreshed after a rest day in Riyadh and if they were expecting an easier return on stage seven then the organisers had other plans. The 483 km special was going to feature some perplexing navigation on small winding gravel tracks around eye-catching canyons, off-piste wadis, a couple of dune sections and adding to this was a total 390 km of liaison as they headed to Al Duwadimi.

Cornejo went into this final week just out of the podium positions, his teammate Adrien Van Beveren had taken the final spot after his faultless 48 Hour Chrono win so the Chilean’s aim was to get back in the hunt. In spite of a small fall he carved out over a three minute gap to reigning World Rally-Raid champion Luciano Benavides. Achieving his goal he is now back into third, just six minutes 48 seconds off leader Ricky Brabec