“The victory of the Argentine National Team in Qatar motivated me,” said Benavides after winning the Dakar

“Greetings to Leo Messi and for all the Argentine National Team. I think his victory had a lot to do with it, I felt very motivated by what the National Team did, by the challenge of fighting for my flag. Luckily I was able to win in Saudi Arabia and leave Argentina at the top of world motorcycling”, declared the new champion after reaching the finish line in Dammam, on the banks of the Persian Gulf.

In the 14th and last stage of 417 kilometers (136 of special), the man from Salta overcame a 12-second disadvantage over his teammate, the Australian Toby Pricewhom he finally surpassed by 43′ in the general classification.

BenavidesThe 34-year-old, the only South American rider in history to win the Dakar on two wheels, repeated the coronation achieved in 2021 with the Japanese brand Honda, after which he decided to switch to KTM in search of new challenges.

“I can’t compare the two titles, they were different. The first was with Honda, a brand I’ve been working with for many years, and this is the first with KTM and that’s what motivated me to make the change, I’m a pilot at that he always likes to go for more, write history and I think today I wrote my name down in history again. On January 15, 2023 as it had happened on January 15, 2021. I chose to believe and here we are, “he celebrated.

On Friday, after completing the Empty Quarter marathon, the Argentine was third overall, 2:40 behind Price, in a finish that he compared to penalties between Argentina and France in Qatar 2022.

“I talked a lot with my psychologist and I put my mind blank, without thinking so much about the possibilities and knowing that I could be first, second or third. In short, I had to do my job, which is to drive as best as possible. Luckily gave, I got it. I touched the sky with my hands again”, he concluded.