Dakar 2017: Brabec second in bikes; Al-Attiyah leads overall on day 1

By Jan 2, 2017, 6:00 PM EST
Ricky Brabec (pictured in 2016). Photo: Getty Images
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American rider Ricky Brabec has come third in the opening stage of the 2017 Dakar Rally in the bike category, and was later promoted to second following a penalty for the stage winner. Meanwhile overall and in cars, two-time overall winner Nasser Al-Attiyah holds the top spot.

Coverage of today’s opening stage will air on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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Brabec, the 25-year-old who rides the No. 9 CRF 450 Rally Honda for the Monster Energy Honda Team, is regarded as the top American with a chance to star in this year’s Dakar, especially following the lingering injuries that have sidelined Red Bull’s Bryce Menzies, who was scheduled to compete in the car class.

French rider Xavier de Soultrait, who is in the No. 23 WR 450 F Yamaha for Viltais Racing Team HFP, took the opening stage win over Spaniard Juan Pedrero Garcia (No. 12 RTR 450 Sherco TVS, Sherco TVS Rally Factory) by two seconds. Brabec was third, 14 seconds back.

However, following the conclusion of the stage, Soultrait was docked nine positions for a speeding violation. That promotes Pedrero to the stage win and Brabec up to second.

Toby Price, who won the bike category at Dakar last year, sits one minute and 25 seconds in arrears.

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Overall, Al-Attiyah has taken the lead with a 24-second stage win over Xavier Pons, and 29-seconds over Nani Roma. The Qatari driver won overall in 2011 and 2015, and this year shares the No. 301 Hilux Toyota for Toyota Gazoo Racing SA with co-driver Matthieu Baumel. Al-Attiyah survived a smoke scare to make it to the stage finish.

Roma is in the No. 305 Toyota, while Pons is in the No. 311 Ranger Ford for DMAS South Racing.

Of note, 2016 Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel sits a minute, 34 seconds in arrears, with Carlos Sainz 33 seconds back, Sebastien Loeb 55 seconds back, Mikko Hirvonen one minute and 20 seconds back, and 24 Hours of Le Mans/FIA World Endurance Champion Romain Dumas one minute and 44 seconds back.

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The other stage one class winners were Martin Kolomy (Trucks, No. 508 Phoenix Tatra, Tatra Buggyra Racing), Tim Coronel (UTV, No. 347 Swift GL Suzuki, Maxxis Dakar Team Powered by Super B) and Marcelo Medeiros (Quads, No. 271 YFM700R Yamaha, Taguatur Racing Team).

Here was the stage map.

Winner Josef Newgarden earns $3.666 million from a record Indy 500 purse of $17 million

By May 29, 2023, 6:01 PM EDT
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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33.  Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports