The Benavides family does not win for disappointment. One month ago, Kevintwo-time champion of the Dakar, suffered a very serious accident that forced him to be hospitalized in intensive care for several weeks. This weekend, The one who fell from his motorcycle was his younger brother Lucianowho had to be dramatically rescued by a helicopter following a hip fracture, which forced him to abandon the Route 40 Challenge.
This is how the protagonist related it through his social networks: “It is not the video that I would like to show, but unfortunately this is where my Ruta 40 Challenge arrived. Everything was going very well, focused and starting to have a good rhythm in the second half of the stage until on that straight before the curve, I gently touched the front brake and I lost the motorcycle very quickly due to the lack of traction, starting to slide several meters until hitting the stones that can be seen on the side and that is what caused a fracture in a hip bone, requiring surgical intervention in the next few days to recover as quickly as possible“he explained.
“I am very sorry to be out of this race that I love so much, and that I really ran because I felt I was in the right place to do it, it was not a lack of concentration error or anything strange, just things that happen in less than a second in this sport and that could have been just one more fall. I thank my entire team, mainly for their work to get me here, the organization and province of Salta for rescuing me, and I forgive my family and friends for making them suffer more than necessary in recent weeks. Thank you all for the support,” he wrote.
He was transferred to a care center where he awaits the operation, which would be this Thursday. He is in good spirits and even surgery is necessary because he is a professional athlete.
The 2023 Raid Rally motorcycle world champion will remain away from his racing Husqvarna for several weeks, but he aims to be available on the remaining date of the event between October 5 and 11 in Morocco, before focusing in the 2025 edition of the Dakar in Saudi Arabia.
The premonition of the father of the Benavides brothers
Kevin and Luciano’s father was at the Dakar in Saudi Arabia this summer to accompany the champions and in an interview with Clarion He confessed what he suffered in each of the stages of the most important endurance race in the world.
Norberto Benavides was also a motorcycle racer. He raced in Enduro, and was always linked to the world of two wheels. As an athlete, as a competitor, as a businessman and merchant in Salta. The passion for vertigo and speed was passed on to his children, who learned very well and took Argentina to the top in the off-road specialty.
“While they are running the stage, I pray to God. Many believe that I am watching the times, that I am aware of each stage. I’m not interested in anything, I just want them to arrive safely.“, he claimed.