Ricky Brabec (born 21 April 1991) is an American professional off-road and rally raid motorcycle racer. He is prominent for being the first American competitor to win the motorcycle division of the Dakar Rally in 2020.
Brabec was born in San Bernardino, California and started BMX when he was five years old. When he was 15, he and his family moved to the desert city of Hesperia, California. First trying motocross, Brabec began desert racing in 2011. [1]
In 2014, Brabec won the Baja 1000, Baja 500 and San Felipe 250. He was fifth in the bike category at Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in 2015. In 2016, he was sixth at Merzouga Rally and seventh at Atacama Rally in the bike category. [2]
He made his Dakar Rally debut in 2016 and finished in 9th. In 2017, he won his first stage, but failed to finish the race. In 2018, he was running in 6th place when he was forced out of the race. It was the second time in his career that he retired from a race. In 2019, he retired for the third consecutive year. [2] In 2020, he won the bike category and two stages. [3]
Brabec also represented the United States at three International Six Days Enduro events. [4] The International Six Days Enduro is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics that is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM, dating back to 1913. [5]
| Year | Bike | Rank | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Honda | 9th | 0 |
| 2017 | Honda | DNF | 1 |
| 2018 | Honda | DNF | 0 |
| 2019 | Honda | DNF | 1 |
| 2020 | Honda | 1st | 2 |
| 2021 | Honda | 2nd | 3 |
| 2022 | Honda | 7th | 0 |
| 2023 | Honda | DNF | 1 |
2014 2014 2014 2020
2017 2018
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a time-card enduro, whereby a number of stages are raced in a time trial against the clock.
Motorcycle racing is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
Iván Cervantes Montero is a Spanish motorcycle enduro racer from Cambrils (Tarragona) and a four-times world enduro champion.
Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon rallies like the Dakar Rally; with other cross-country rally events lasting 4–5 days. With skill in navigation being key, the driving skill and endurance of riders, drivers, co-drivers, and machines are put to the test. The total distance covered can be anywhere between 600 km to over 5,000 km with terrain ranging from sandy dunes, forest roads, mountain roads, and dry river beds; among others.
Francisco "Chaleco" López is a rally raid, motocross and enduro motorcycle rider. He was a winner of one stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally, three stages of the 2010 Dakar Rally finishing third overall, and one stage in the 2011 Dakar Rally finishing fourth overall.
Cyril Despres is a French rally racer and resident of Andorra. He won the Dakar Rally five times, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013, riding a KTM motorcycle. He also won the Red Bull Romaniacs, one of the toughest hard enduro events on the planet, three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003. In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total.
Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert, also known as Laia Sanz, is a Spanish sportswoman. She is a fourteen-time Women's Trial World Champion and ten-time Women's Trial European Champion in outdoor motorcycle trials.
Toby Joseph Price OAM is an Australian off-road and enduro motorcycle racing world champion. He lives in Gold Coast, Queensland, and rode for the KTM Off-Road Racing Team until October 2015. He now represents the Red Bull Factory KTM Rally Team.
Joan Barreda Bort is a Spanish rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally.
Ignacio Nicolás Casale Catraccia is a four-wheeler motorcycle rider who won three times in the quad bike category of Dakar Rally. He moved to the UTV category after his second victory on the Dakar Rally in 2018.
Africa Eco Race is an annual rally raid, organised in France and run in North and West Africa, launched after the cancellation of 2008 Dakar Rally, and the subsequent moving of the rally to South America.
Sam Sunderland is a Dubai-based British rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2017 and 2022.
Rafał Krzysztof Sonik is a Polish quad rally driver. He is the second Polish driver to win the Dakar Rally (2015). Before that, he had claimed the second and twice the third place. He won the FIM World Cup three times, and is a five-time Polish Champion winner in endurance racing.
The 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season was the 13th season of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
Merzouga Rally is a rally raid that takes place in Morocco every year since 2010 at the beginning of October in the big dunes of Merzouga. It’s a five-day race plus prologue and a marathon stage in the desert. The stages are varied and around 200–300 km long. Navigation is the key and the competitors use the GPS Unik2, the same used on the Dakar Rally. Safety is important as well with the competitors using the Iritrack, the tracking system studied for the African rallies. Plus a professional medical staff with 4x4 ambulances and doctors on bike and quad along the track and heli-ambulance service. To meet the needs of the professional riders but also the necessities of amateurs, the Merzouga Rally features the division of the route in 2 categories: PRO: open to pro riders and those competitors ready for an ultimate challenge EXPERT: a technical and navigated route but less extreme stages as the Expert riders will cover the 75% of the complete route of the Pro riders. The Merzouga Raid: Ideal for those who face the desert for the first time. At their own pace, riding on the same route of the rally in small groups with an expert guide. The vehicles will be equipped with world track, the satellite system that allow to follow the vehicles on track in real time.. Merzouga Rally took originally place in October and then was organized in April: the 2020 edition was originally planned on May, although it was finally cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizers postponed it until its next edition on 2021, which it never took place.
The Honda CRF450L is a CRF series 450 cc (27 cu in) dual-sport motorcycle made by Honda. It was announced in May 2018 and available from September of the same year. It is the fifth member of CRF dual-sport lineup offered by Honda, after CRF230L, CRF250L, CRF1000L Africa Twin and CRF150L. Unlike other bikes from this lineup, the frame and engine of the CRF450L are directly taken from CRF450R motocross and CRF450X enduro bikes, while the other bikes such as CRF150L and CRF250L do not share anything from its motocross and enduro counterparts.
Casey Currie is an American off-road racing driver. Along with Ricky Brabec in the bike category, Currie was the first American to win at the Dakar Rally in 2020, having won the UTV category with Sean Berriman for Monster Energy Cam-Am. In 2010, he won the Pro Light championship in the Traxxas TORC Series. In 2017 he won the Baja 1000 in the Ultra 4 Class in a Trophy Jeep.
Ross Branch is a motorcycle racer from Botswana. He lives in Gaborone, Botswana and rode for the KTM Off-Road Racing Team until October 2018. He now represents Monster Energy Yamaha Racing and is the first stage winner from Botswana, after taking the stage 2 victory at the Dakar Rally 2020.
Scot Harden is a professional off-road motorcycle racer. He has held managerial and executive positions at Husqvarna, KTM, BMW, and Zero Motorcycles.
Gerard Farrés i Güell is a Spanish motorcycle racer of enduro and rally raid. In rally raid, he finished in third place in the motorcycle category in the 2017 Dakar Rally and won Baja Aragón in the same category in 2007, 2009 and 2011.