With one day left to race at the Desafio Ruta 40, Benavides trails the provisional leader by just less than six minutes. And with tomorrow’s 258-kilometre special still to go, the Argentine will undoubtedly be going all out for the win.
Luciano Benavides: “Finally, I have got a stage win at my home race – the most important one at Fiambala. Honestly, at the beginning this morning I was taking things a little steady because I didn’t feel so confident. But then after the neutralisation, I saw the dunes and decided to push. It was really good – I was able to catch Tosha (Schareina) ahead of me and then opened for a few kilometres. I really gave my all today, and so towards the end of the special I started to get tired, and I think because of that, I made a small mistake that maybe cost me two minutes. But I was still able to take the win and it feels great. Tomorrow is the final stage and I get to open on the way to Salta, which was always my plan and will feel great in front of my home fans. Hopefully, I can deliver another good result and a strong finish to the rally.”
Desafio Ruta 40 – Stage 4 Provisional Classification
1. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 2:53:57
2. Tosha Schareina (Honda) 2:54:33
3. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 2:55:43
4. Michael Docherty (KTM) 2:57:17
5. Toby Price (KTM) 2:58:37
6. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 2:58:562023
2023 Desafio Ruta 40 – Provisional Overall Classification [After Stage 4]
1. Tosha Schareina (Honda) 13:15:26
2. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 13:21:13
3. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 13:38:39
4. Ross Branch (Hero) 13:44:49
5. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 13:47:54
6. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 13:53:19