The Dakar Rally marked Kevin Benavides’ first race back since suffering a diffuse axonal injury last May. Although the two-time Dakar winner had avoided trouble for the first half, such a grueling race—especially with the Chrono Stage and two marathon stages both before the rest day on Friday—put too much physical strain on him to sustain for now.

As a result, he has opted to sit out the second half of the rally. He will remain in Saudi Arabia to support his brother Luciano and their Red Bull KTM team.

“The first week was definitely tough with over 30 hours of racing,” he began. “I’m not in my best physical condition so it has been a fight every day, but I’m really proud to have finished the first week of the toughest rally in the world. That alone is a great achievement.

“It’s been frustrating as my mind knows how to race fast and stay with the top guys, I’ve proved that in previous years. (But) my body just isn’t capable of maintaining that sort of pace at the moment. It’s because of this feeling that I have made the decision to withdraw for the rally. The risk of further injury is too great. I want to thank the team and the fans for all the support they have given, and I hope to be back racing again soon.”

Last May, Kevin and Luciano had been training for the Desafío Ruta 40 when the former crashed. Besides the DAI, he broke his left elbow, left humerus, part of his cervical spine, and had a torn radial nerve. The accident left him hospitalized and underwent much longer surgery than anticipated, forcing him to miss the DR 40 and the W2RC’s season-ending Rallye du Maroc.

While still one of the top riders today, Benavides has struggled with injuries since winning the 2023 Dakar. He missed all but one round of the W2RC following his victory due to crashes that resulted in a broken femur and wrist. He returned to action at the 2024 Dakar, where he finished fourth.

Through the first five stages, Benavides was sitting 16th in RallyGP with a best stage performance of 15th in Stage #1. Luciano is seventh while their teammate Daniel Sanders leads the overall.

“He had a tough year with injury but has done a great job over the first week here, and it’s a testament to his strength and experience that he made it to the rest day,” said KTM team manager Andreas Hölzl. “Kevin will stay in Saudi and will be on hand to support his brother and the whole team, which is also a massive help. The second week here at Dakar is looking tough, but we’re well prepared and motivated to carry this momentum to the finish.”

Featured image credit: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool