Nacho Cornejo climbs to 7th in Dakar 2025 overall rankings after a solid Stage 8 finish, showcasing skill and determination.
Carrying the team’s rally flag forward, Nacho Cornejo demonstrated his skill and determination yet again and continued his impressive run at the rally, crossing the finish line today with the 9th fastest time. With this result, the young athlete has now moved up to the 7th position in the overall rankings.
Cornejo’s momentum continues to build, with the Chilean rider feeling increasingly comfortable on his machine. The latest recruit to the Hero camp has been consistently improving his overall standing at Dakar 2025, maintaining a top-10 spot and is now focused on securing a stellar finish for his team.
Today’s Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally 2025 took riders on a 483 km timed journey from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, with an additional 250 km of liaisons. The stage proved to be a mix of various terrains demanding alternating speeds, requiring riders to stay focused throughout.
Tomorrow’s Stage 9 – a very fast stage mainly on dirt tracks – will cover 357 km of timed specials as the rally heads eastwards from Riyadh to Haradh. With an additional 232 km of liaisons, riders will face a long day ahead, tackling a total distance of 589 km. The stage will favour the competitors who love maintaining high speeds. The current state of the rally will influence each competitor’s strategy, and will require them to push their machines hard to stay in contention.
Nacho Cornejo, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, said:
“We are done with Stage 8 and it was an incredibly fast one! We had a nice ride today and I am feeling very confident on the bike. I lost a little bit of time but it wasn’t a major setback. I am looking forward to Stage 9 tomorrow and we will keep battling it day by day. Thank you so much everyone for the continued support!”
Provisional Rankings – Stage 08
1. Luciano Benavides Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 04hr 50m 46s
2. Adrien Van Beveren Monster Energy Honda Team + 02m 08s
3. Tosha Schareina Monster Energy Honda Team + 02m 14s
9. Nacho Cornejo Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 07m 33s
Provisional Rankings – Stage 08 – Overall Classification
1. Daniel Sanders Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 44hr 26m 52s
2. Tosha Schareina Monster Energy Honda Team + 11m 03s
3. Adrien Van Beveren Monster Energy Honda Team + 21m 31s
7. Nacho Cornejo Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 53m 32s
