Al Attiyah takes sixth Dakar win; Benavides stuns Brabec

Nasser Al Attiyah has won his sixth Dakar Rally, the first for Dacia, on the Romanian manufacturer's second try. The Qatari also pulled level with Ari Vatanen and Stéphane Peterhansel, all three with 50 special wins, and came closer to the Frenchman's record eight titles with his latest success in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia.

"We are so happy to win. I think we made the difference on the second day of the first marathon stage by building up a 12-minute lead," said Al Attiyah, who cruised through the brief final 105-km stage to finish with a 9m42s margin over the Ford Raptor of Nani Roma. "Yesterday (when he won his 50th stage by a decisive margin) was also important. That's when we knew we'd won the race. This is my sixth victory. I still need to break Peterhansel's record."

Mattias Ekstrom grabbed a final taste of Dakar glory by winning today's sprint with his Raptor to secure the final place on the Ultimate class podium, 14m33s behind the winner.

"I'm pleased with the podium, but we come here to win," said Ekstrom. "The first lesson is that I have to come back even better prepared because the level at the front is extremely high. I'm going home and asking my bosses to let me contest the full championship, because to fight here you need the same level of preparation as Nasser and the Dacias.

"This sport is becoming more like circuit racing, it comes down to the smallest details. A few years ago, there were three drivers capable of winning. I don't think that is still the case. There are more drivers and more cars that can do it now – the competition is tougher. It's all about preparation; you can't rest on your laurels, and I'm going to start working on it from tomorrow."

The final stage tally saw Ekstrom lead with four wins, while Al Attiyah pocketed two. The remaining honors were spread far and wide, with Guillaume de Mévius, Americans Seth Quintero and Mitch Guthrie, Nani Roma, Henk Lategan, Saood Variawa, Eryk Goczał and Mathieu Serradori all hitting the top step once.

If the Ultimate finale was something of an anticlimax, the opposite was true in motorcycles. America's Ricky Brabec appeared to have everything going his way after a clear win yesterday set up by sandbagging in the previous stage for a lower start spot. Brabec started the final stage, usually considered a formality, with 3m20s in hand over the Red Bull KTM of Luciano Benavides. Opening the way, the Monster Energy Honda rider had just 7 km of parade riding left when a navigation error sent him slightly too far left, forcing him into a loop of about 3 km to get back on track. Meanwhile, the Argentinian charged across the finish line with two seconds in hand over Brabec, the narrowest winning margin ever.

Dreams come true for Luciano Benavides. Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

"I gave it everything from start to finish today. I never stopped dreaming, I never stopped believing," said Benavides. "I told those close to me that I didn't know why, but I just felt like it was still on.

"In the final three kilometers, Ricky took the wrong track and I took the right one. It was a glimmer of hope. I saw it was him and that he had to pull a U-turn to get back on the right line because crossing between the two was impossible. I saw the opening and I went for it. "I'd told everyone before the start that this Dakar was mine. Nine years in the Dakar and my first win. My brother (Kevin) and I are making history. He won by 43 seconds and I've won by two. I think I have him beaten on that front! It's a dream come true.

"Mathematically, it was impossible to beat Ricky today. But in yesterday's road section, I told myself I had done everything right and I wanted to finish strong. Everything happens for a reason, and I think today was just one of those days. Two seconds after two weeks and over 8,000 km is hard to believe."

It wasn't all bad news for fans of American contenders as Brock Heger picked up his second SSV trophy in a row, having dominated from the outset with his Polaris RZR. Another American, Kyle Chaney, chased Heger as best he could throughout the event, but wound up an hour behind. The Can-Am racer led home Xavier de Soultrait, 1h25ms behind his winning teammate.

"Our goal was to win and we did it. I loved the Dakar," said Heger. "I had a blast with Xavier and my other teammates. We're an American crew, it's an American brand. It's a huge win and I can't wait to come back next year and try to do it again.

"It's a brutal race that can stop at any moment, especially in navigation where you can get lost very quickly. Max (Eddy, co-driver) and I focused on being in the right place every day, which meant we could ease off towards the end. I'm really happy to be here once again."

Rokas Baciuska and his Defender Rally Team were similarly dominant throughout this year's Dakar in the Stock category. The Lithuanian led a final 1-2-3 stage sweep to take the overall win by 3h58m over American teammate Sara Price, who also shone in the event with several stage wins despite having her overall prospects dented by early delays.

Catch the recap of today's final stage tonight at 7:00pm ET on RACER Network and the RACER+ App. Both will also present live coverage of today's Awards Ceremony from 1:00-3:00pm ET.