Southern Californians Brabec & Currie With Co-Driver Las Vegas' Berriman Become First Americans To Win Famed Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally 2020 SSV Category/Class (Side-By-Side Vehicle) winners Casey Currie & Sean Berriman left, with Motorcycle Category/Class winner Ricky Brabec out on course in the Arabian desert. Image Compilation: Edmund Jenks (2020)

Southern Californians Brabec & Currie With Co-Driver Las Vegas' Berriman Become First Americans To Win Famed Dakar Rally

Now that the sands of Saudi Arabia have settled back onto the desert floor tracing the Dakar Rally's 4,881-mile course that began at the Red Sea and looped eastward toward the Persian Gulf at Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia, three Americans have won this 40 year annual off-road challenge for the first time.

Americans Casey Currie, left, of Corona and co-driver/navigator Sean Berriman of Las Vegas celebrate after winning the side-by-side vehicle event of the Dakar 2020. Image Credit: Motors Addict (2020)

Southern Californians Ricky Brabec, 28 - Monster Energy Honda Team rider from Hesperia, winner of the Motorcycle Category/Class along with Casey Currie, 36 - Motul-sponsored Monster Energy Can-Am Maverick prepared by South Racing from Corona and co-driver Sean Berriman , 28 (today - JAN. 17, 2020) of Las Vegas, winners of the SSV Category/Class (Side-By-Side Vehicle) become the first ever Americans to win the Dakar Rally, the world's toughest race, since it's inception in 1978.

American Ricky Brabec, today - JAN. 17, 2020 rode his factory CRF450 RALLY to overall motorcycle class victory in the final, 12th stage of the Dakar Rally 2020. His win gave Honda its first Dakar victory in 31 years, since its last win in 1989. Image Credit: AFP-Getty Images via LA Times (2020)

Patterned after the off-road challenge run in North America, the Baja 1000 (sanctioned by SCORE International), which began in 1967, the Dakar is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. This 2020 edition was held in Saudi Arabia.

Image Credit: Honda (2020)

The rally is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants. Competitors are sorted out into five competitive groups - motorcycles, quads, the cars class (which ranges from buggies to small SUVs), UTVs, and the trucks class. Many vehicle manufacturers use the rally's harsh environment as both a testing ground and an opportunity to show off their vehicles' durability even though, in fact, most vehicles are heavily modified or purpose-built.
[ht: Wikipedia]

SELECTED QUOTES - Various Sources

"Two Americans on top!" exclaimed [Casey] Currie after the race. "I’m blown away, man! Sean [Barriman] and my team did a phenomenal job. The car ran great all the time. It’s just an epic experience, and I’ll never forget it, for sure. This is my most emotional win ever. The amount of pressure that was on me was incredible. I love this rally! We’re coming back next year to defend our title. I’m very stoked for Ricky Brabec, he deserves it more than I do."

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"We finally did it! This victory couldn’t possibly be better for Honda and the team. It was a tough and long race, but the team worked great together. The riders were good, the mechanics were good, the whole team worked really well. The bikes were really good in today’s final stage, and our main goal was for everyone to get here safely,”"stated [Ricky] Brabec. "I can’t thank everybody enough. The Honda team, and everybody that stands behind us, I thank all of you. I’m also deeply grateful to my teammate until last year, Paulo Goncalves. This was the first time for the event in Saudi Arabia, and the scenery was insane. I love it! We’re going to be back next year!"

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Dakar 2020, Casey Currie Sean Barriman, Ricky Brabec, Motorcycle, SSV, Side-By-Side, Saudi Arabia, Qiddiya, First, American, Motul, Monster Energy, Can-Am Maverick, Honda, The EDJE