Dakar Rally: Michelin's 40th success, by a margin of just 2 seconds!

The 48th Dakar was won by the MICHELIN Enduro/Bib Mousse-equipped KTM 450 Rally Factory of Luciano Benavides who claimed the French tire firm's 40th two-wheel victory on the event. The gap to second-placed Ricky Brabec (Honda/Michelin) was two tiny seconds!

The rally's last leg produced an unexpected upset when the USA's Brabec strayed from the correct route while running 3m43s clear at the top of the order with only 10 of the event's 5,000 competitive kilometers to go. His error played into the hands of Argentina's Benavides who snapped up the win in Saudi Arabia. Two seconds is the smallest winning margin ever seen on the Dakar which has now been won by Michelin with KTM no fewer than 21 times.

This year's competition was dominated by the factory KTMs and Hondas, with KTM's Edgar Canet, Daniel Sanders and Benavides sharing six stage wins between them. Michelin is an official partner of KTM Factory Racing, but not of Honda, yet the USA's Brabec chose to compete on the French brand's tires and Bib Mousse inserts. He claimed two stages to come second overall, ahead of fellow Honda runners Tosha Schareina and Skyler Howes. The 2025 winner Sanders (KTM/Michelin) overcame an injury in a fall to end up fifth.

Michelin also partnered Hero Motorsports whose riders Ignacio Cornejo and Ross Branch rounded out the fortnight's top 10. There was success for Michelin, too, in the Rally2 category in association with Slovakia's Toni Mulec (KTM).