Team HRC's Benavides wins the Merzouga Rally
By TMX Archives on 28th May 16
Team HRCs Argentinean rider Kevin Benavides has sealed overall victory in the Afriquia Merzouga Rally.
Benavides kept the field in check after the motocross-style start, crossing the finishing-line in second place.
It was the first race as part of the official HRC team and a first win too. The budding young Argentinean shone throughout the whole week and stormed to an overall triumph in the dunes of Morocco's Erg Chebbi.
Benavides had placed himself in a virtually unbeatable position yesterday ahead the final stage which got underway with a motocross-like start in the Lago Yasmina Erg Chebbi area.
This is the second time Team HRC have clinched the Merzouga Rally title. In 2013 it was Briton Sam Sunderland who took the Honda CRF450 RALLY to the top step of the rostrum.
Benavides' Team HRC companion Ricky Brabec (USA) wound up in sixth place overall, improving daily with such a steep learning curve of tough navigation. The apprenticeship in navigation has been the rider's main goal over the course of the five-day rally.
The next outing for Team HRC will be the third round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, the Sardegna Rally Race..
