Only three people have won the Dakar Rally overall on both two and four wheels: Hubert Auriol, Stéphane Peterhansel, and Nani Roma. Kevin Benavides hopes to be the fourth.

Benavides and his brother Luciano spoke with Buen día Campeones on Wednesdsay, during which the former confirmed he will run the 2027 Dakar in a Toyota Hilux from Overdrive Racing. He raced a Hilux for the first time at the Desafío Ruta 40 in May, where he finished 13th in Ultimate.

“There are drivers like Stéphane Peterhansel, who is Mr. Dakar, and Nani Roma, they’re the only two who’ve managed to win on motorcycles, switch to cars, and win again,” said Benavides. “It’s a dream for me too, obviously, but I have my feet on the ground.

“In the Dakar, you have to stay grounded. I’m aware that I’m just starting out in this class, that I’ll be competing against champions with many years of experience like Nasser Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz, Nani Roma, Sébastien Loeb, a bunch of great drivers. We’re going to give our best.”

Auriol won the Paris–Dakar Rally on a bike in 1981 and 1983, then claimed the 1992 edition in a Citroën ZX. Peterhansel, the most successful racer at Dakar, has six motorcycle wins and eight car victories. Roma won on two wheels in 2004 and four wheels a decade later in 2014.

Benavides is a two-time Dakar bike champion with victories in 2021 and 2023 before retiring due to injuries. He made the switch to driving last year, starting out in the Challenger category. At January’s Dakar, he and Luciano both won their respective classes in Stage 7 before Kevin finished seventh in class. In March, Benavides won UTV at the South American Rally Race.

Although the DR 40 was his first time in the highest category, he showed strong pace by finishing second overall in Stage 2. A shock absorber issue ultimately dropped him out of the top ten.

Featured image credit: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool