After over a decade of rallies and winning the Dakar Rally twice, Kevin Benavides is hanging up his helmet. This isn’t necessarily the end of his career, as he’s looking to trade it for a driver’s helmet in the near future.

Benavides announced his retirement from motorcycle racing on Thursday, ending a career that saw him become one of Argentina’s most successful rally riders. He began doing rallies in 2015 for Honda, finishing second in the 2017 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship (predecessor to the W2RC) and third two years later. In 2021, he won the Dakar Rally for the first time in his final season with Honda before becoming a factory rider for KTM.

A second Dakar title came in 2023. Since then, however, he’s been plagued by crashes and injuries. He broke his femur while testing for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge then his wrist ahead of the Desafío Ruta 40, both injuries causing him to run only two of the five W2RC races that year. His 2024 campaign was derailed by a diffuse axonal injury he sustained in a practice crash, leading to a lengthy recovery.

He recovered in time for the 2025 Dakar Rally, but withdrew after halfway because he felt his body was not fully ready for racing.

“After so many years of racing, riding motorcycles since I was three, crossing the toughest terrains on Earth, experiencing victories, crashes, and life-changing lessons, I’ve made one of the hardest decisions of my life: to bring my professional motorcycle racing career to an end,” said Benavides. “Saying goodbye to the bike feels like letting go of a part of myself, but I do so with pride. From Salta, Argentina, to the world, becoming a factory rider, winning the Dakar twice, and making history in rally and Argentine sport, these were dreams that once seemed impossible.

“This isn’t how I imagined retiring, but my injury prevents me from competing at 100 percent, and I’ve always raced with everything I had. Still, I’m deeply grateful for all I’ve achieved. I want to thank my family, my team, the fans, and especially KTM – for believing in me and standing by me through everything. I hope to stay close to the KTM family, support my brother Luciano, and keep contributing to the sport in new ways. Dakar taught me that there are no limits when you love what you do and stay humble. Thank you all for being part of this journey.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing continues to field two bikes for his younger brother Luciano and points leader Daniel Sanders.

Despite his retirement from two wheels, the older Benavides is leaving the door open for a potential switch to driving a car. Such a route is not uncommon for riders who want to continue competing in rallies, with other former Dakar winners to do so including Marc Coma, Cyril Despres, Stéphane Peterhansel, Toby Price, Nani Roma, and Sam Sunderland.

Featured image credit: Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Content Pool