He lived in his brother’s shadow and thought about retiring, but he took the pressure off and now he’s aiming for everything: “I want to be Dakar champion”

Luciano Benavides don’t think about him Dakar Rally 2024, which will take place from 5 to 19 January in Saudi Arabia and will be played for the seventh time in his career. It goes further. He dreams of becoming champion of what he calls “the toughest race in the world”.

The 28-year-old pilot from Salta, the only representative of the Husqvarna Factory Racing In the extreme demands that the Saudi desert will offer, he feels ready to make the big leap. He won three stages in the last edition, has just become Rally-Raid world champion in Morocco and will be the first rider in history to wear the number 1 on a motorbike without having previously won the Touareg. Clear candidate.

Passing through Buenos Aires, after a two-week internship in the United States, the youngest Benavide visited the editorial office of Clarion and told how he is preparing to fulfill “the dream of a lifetime”, the difficulties of living in the shadow of his brother Kevin and the ups and downs of the process that today finds him as a reference in motorcycling.

«What is the Dakar for you?

―It’s a truly incredible challenge, a great feeling of freedom, pure competition in the desert. It is undoubtedly the toughest race in the world and it is incredible to be able to fight for victory.

—And how are you preparing, both physically and mentally, for a race that will be very tiring?

―All year round we train for the Dakar, which are 15 very hard days: I train every day in the gym and then the aerobic part on the bike, to which is added the training we do in the desert with motocross and enduro because the rally It’s a combination of all disciplines. I have two physical trainers and then a trainer on the bike. And on the mental part I work with my psychologist Gustavo Ruiz, who is a fundamental person for me. We will have sessions during the Dakar after every day. It’s extremely important in such a long race to have your head where it needs to be.

―Laia Sanz said she switched from motorcycles to cars after losing friends along the way. How do you manage the danger that this race brings?

«Rallying is by far the most dangerous thing in motor sport and we are aware of the risks we face. It’s a reality and there have been fatal accidents. In 2020 it was the last one, a friend of ours. In my particular case I went through very difficult times. There were two years in which I couldn’t get results and I was scared on the bike, but I think that working on the mental part greatly reduces the risks. Your head is put in a positive position and you don’t think that something bad will happen to you, like it happened to me before. Obviously the risk and fear are there, but the key is to try not to let it get into your head.

The fatal accident referred to is that of the Portuguese Paolo Goncalves, who died following an accident at kilometer 263 of the seventh stage of that edition, which ran from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir. Benavides had spoken to him a few hours before his death and had published a post on Instagram in which he was deeply shocked by the departure of “an incredible person and friend, always ready to teach and give advice.”

—This reason, among other things, is so important for working on the mental aspect you were talking about before?

– It’s a lot of things. The Dakar is made to suffer. In other words, you suffer from everything: you suffer from extreme muscular and mental fatigue, rain, cold, heat, hunger. There are 15 days where you go to the limit. So if you’re mentally a little weak, it gets into your head. If you feel cold, because we drive many hours in the cold in the morning, it gets into your head and starts to kill you. You have to be firm, accept whatever comes and, whatever happens, for better or worse, end it quickly and move on.

—And how does your family deal with latent danger?

«They are a fundamental pillar, both for me and for my brother. In the Dakar there are two of us and obviously my mother, my father and my sister suffer a lot because they know the risks, but they know that we love what we do and that we are happy. They also see the professional part. We are not exempt from possible falls or accidents, but we leave nothing to chance and I believe that in this way the risk is reduced.

“It may have been difficult at first, but you already think this is the life you chose, right?

-Yes just like this. I chose motorbikes, I have been a professional for six years and I feel that I was born for this, so it is a nice thing to be able to make a living from what I do and which is good for me and also for my brother. I think we did something right as a family and I’m proud to have this moment.

«Are you in the best moment of your career?

―I don’t feel like I’m in the best moment, but I feel like I’m entering a great moment. I believe there is always room for improvement and I work on this every day. I haven’t reached my ceiling yet. I’m starting a great moment that I hope I can maintain at the Dakar.

“Go for everything.”

“I’m in a great personal moment because I feel like I’ve achieved the result I wanted so much, which is to become world champion and this gives you further confidence. It will be my seventh participation in the Dakar and for the first time I will be number one. I feel very good. I feel that this year I will be able to fight for the victory and, even if a thousand things happen in such a long race, I am prepared to do it.

Inherited from their father, an amateur blacksmith, the Benavides brothers adopted a passion for motorcycles. Kevin, who is six years older, was the first to compete in youth competitions and Luciano followed in his footsteps. As a child he slept hugging a toy motorcycle and grew up watching his older brother race. Here is one of the main challenges he had to face in his career: overcome the pressure of comparisons.

«In Argentina we are used to comparisons. How did you accept being measured by the yardstick of what your brother accomplished?

“It was very difficult at first being so far away from Kevin. The fact is that he was a two-time Dakar champion and made history like no other. And just because he’s my brother I shouldn’t do the same. I felt that pressure from people. The key was to never stop trying, accept that we are different and like him he always supported me. I absorbed everything I could see from him and today I feel that with the World Championship I have finally freed myself from all that pressure.

“How did your brother help you?”

«In 2016 he had a beautiful Dakar: he finished 4th, he was racing for Honda and KTM wanted to sign him. They made him an offer and he had to refuse it because he already had a contract. Then, in that email exchange, he commented that I was switching from enduro to rallying. Three weeks passed and an offer arrived for me; They offered me a professional contract for three years. This is how I became a professional driver without knowing what rallying was. It was one in a million. Obviously then I had to demonstrate and that pressure led me to a year and a half in which I broke five vertebrae in my first Dakar, then I broke my ribs and a shoulder. For the first few years I had a bit of a meltdown until I figured out how it worked. I began to mature, to have more experience and there I was able to grow my career.

“And you talked about ‘never stopping trying’ in those difficult times. Have you ever thought about giving up everything?

«Yes, in 2021. It was a time when I almost gave up because I had injuries, bad results, my confidence was low and I always felt like I was on the verge of an accident. I didn’t feel like I was on the bike. It was the lowest point of my career and from there I said, “well, I have to make an even bigger sacrifice than I made to change history and be able to change.” And that big change started last year.

«What was the specific change you made?

―I worked a lot with my psychologist to believe in myself again and get out of my brother’s shadow. I focused 100% on following my work plan and also decided to stick to more hours of hard training and be comfortable with suffering. That was the shot to be able to give an extra gear in extreme situations. They are small steps that build trust and manage frustrations. Before I happened to get stuck with problems and it lasted the entire phase; Now I have learned to be colder and to get out of it quickly.

«You thought about abandoning and now everyone is nominating you for the Dakar.

-Yes. I know it’s difficult. It’s very long and you can’t start a Dakar with the desire to win it; You have to build it step by step, but I have a good feeling. I see it possible. I want to be Dakar champion, make history and bring the Touareg to Argentina.

-And match your brother, who has already won it twice.

-Also. I have the World Cup and I don’t have the Dakar; Kevin has the Dakar and not the World Cup. Hopefully now we can run it over (laughs).

―Being Dakar champion would be… how would you complete the sentence?

“Being Dakar champion would be the biggest dream I have. Being able to complete it in my showcase next to the World Cup would be my lifelong dream. And I will fight for it.