Ignacio Cornejo, better known as Nacho, is hailed by his Rally GP comrades as the top-notch navigator in the game. When tasked with opening the road, the Chilean can dissect the road book and terrain faster than his rivals, but oddly enough, that has yet to earn him any glittering trophies. Nacho has cracked the top 10 five times in eight Dakar starts, but the podium has remained an elusive dream. His best performance was fourth in 2020. As for stage wins, he had bagged six before January 2024. The Monster Energy Honda ace had scored two braces, one in 2020 and another in 2022. Now, in 2024, he stands alone as the sole pilot to nab more than one stage win in this Dakar. Three victories, to be precise, adding today's triumph to his earlier wins in stages 2 and 4! This hat-trick marks a personal best and echoes Luciano Benavides's feat from 2023, when the Argentinian picked up three Dakar stage wins before going on to claim the world championship at the end of the season. With two sixth places in the W2RC under his belt, the Chilean is tracking the footsteps of his Argentinian neighbour.
