Sam Sunderland:“That was a really challenging stage today. There was a lot of sand early on but then near the end there were a lot of canyons to navigate through. You had to be really patient and choose the right one as it would be so easy to get lost and lose time. The guys opening, fortunately, did a great job, which made things a little easier for me but after leading out yesterday, I know how tough that can be. Early on I was pushing hard and I was a bit too aggressive with a few small crashes in the sand so I had to settle down a bit, get into a rhythm, and it paid off as I was able to take the stage win. We have some long days ahead, but today’s result is just what I needed after everything that happened yesterday.”

Undoubtedly, Sam’s determination and his ability to keep on keeping on, even when faced with ongoing Dakar challenges, is a huge reason the GASGAS RC 450F racer has returned to the top of the leaderboard. Relieved after taking his first win of the rally, Sam will be back in the hot seat tomorrow as the rider that has the unenviable task of opening the stage. Armed with his superior navigation skills, and a winner’s mindset, Sam will be first into a stage that will feature very little in the way of sand, yet a lot of rocky terrain, as he completes what might prove to be one of the pivotal stages of the 2022 Dakar Rally.

Results (provisional): Dakar Rally 2022, stage 8

1. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 3:48:02
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 3:50:55 + 0:02:53
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 3:52:13 + 0:04:11

Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 8)

1. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 27:38:42
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 27:42:27
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 27:43:25

Sam Sunderland:“Things were going well today until I had a small crash in a riverbed while checking my roadbook. I just clipped a rock and that was all it took to take me down. I was able to get up pretty quickly, just as Barreda came by, so I latched onto him to the finish. I’ll get some rest now and prepare myself for tomorrow.”

Daniel Sanders rocketed forwards from his fifth place starting position on stage four, opening the challenging special from the 158-kilometer mark. With vast, rolling sand dunes in front of him, Chucky skillfully navigated across more than 300 kilometers to successfully reach the finish line in Riyadh. Going on to complete the stage as the 17th fastest rider he underlined the solid effort he’s putting in on his GASGAS RC 450F Rally.

Daniel Sanders: “I got off to a really good start today and caught up to the leaders pretty quickly. After refueling there was a group of us opening the stage and then after a tricky spot with navigation it was me and Skyler Howes who broke free initially. Then I pushed on to lead on my own. Near the end I jumped off the top of a dune and I landed on a grassy mound, which wasn’t ideal, and I was really lucky not to crash there. But I cracked on with it and was able to finish the stage without any further issues. So all-in-all, a decent day for me.”

Results (provisional): Dakar Rally 2022, stage 4

1. Joan Barreda (Honda) 4:06:06
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 4:10:43
3. Danilo Petrucci (KTM) 4:12:59
7. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 4:16:21
17. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4:24:34

Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 4)

1. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 15:30:01
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 15:33:01
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 15:34:55
4. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 15:37:08

• Sam Sunderland produces exceptional form on stage two
• Two GASGAS RC 450F bikes inside the provisional top three
• Early rally leader Daniel Sanders now lies third overall

Sam Sunderland:“It was an interesting day today and it certainly went a bit more smoothly than yesterday, which is what I wanted. I started sixth and focused on just pushing hard to catch the leaders. There was some tricky navigation, but I figured out the way pretty quickly and caught up to Van Beveren. We then caught up with a few more of the leading guys so from there onwards we took it in turns to navigate and it was a pretty cool way to end the stage.”

Keeping a cool head in the face of adversity is an essential attribute to rally success so when Daniel Sanders found himself on the wrong side of canyon nearing the end of stage two, he had to make a quick decision. Instead of turning back, he opted to jump his GASGAS RC 450F clean over it to get himself back in the race, which, fortunately, worked out perfectly! From there onwards it was a hard charge to the finish line. Despite losing a little bit of time, Sanders lies in a strong third in the overall provisional classification, just three-and-a-half minutes down on teammate Sunderland.

Daniel Sanders:“Today was pretty wild to begin with as it was pretty cloudy and the stage was super-fast early on. I had a good day going until after a fuel stop where I went down the wrong side of a canyon and lost a little bit of time. In the end I had to jump over it to get out of it but once back on the right line I pushed on to the finish. A little frustrating but I was able to make up some time in the dunes so all in all, not a bad day really.”

Results (provisional): Dakar Rally 2022, stage 2

1. Joan Barreda (Honda) 3:31:20
2. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 3:36.53
3. Kevin Benavides (KTM) 3:37.14
23. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 3:56.18

Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 2)

1. Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 8:31.29
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha) 8:34:20
3. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 8:34.58

Daniel Sanders:“So far things are shaping up really good. After winning the Prologue yesterday I got to choose my starting position and opted to start in 15th and then focus on chasing after the guys up front. There was some tricky navigation near the end of the special but I kept cool, avoided any huge errors and then l lead the stage to the end. This was great for me as it made sure I focused on my roadbook and as I’ll lead out tomorrow – it was good to get a little experience of riding alone up front. I’m excited for tomorrow and looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

Enjoying a strong debut ride aboard GASGAS machinery at the 2022 Dakar Rally, Sam Sunderland was well placed and running up front with the leading riders until until finding one of the waypoints late on in the 334-kilometer special proved anything but easy. After losing valuable time along with many of his rivals, Sunderland quickly found his way and pushed to the end of the special to secure his sixth-place finish.

Sam Sunderland:“The first proper day is done and it’s safe to say that we went straight in at the deep end! My navigation was good all day but when we got to kilometer 276 there was a waypoint which was really difficult to find. A few of us went around in circles but once I found it my only option was to push as hard as I could to make up for lost time. It’s been a tough first day but there’s such a long way to go, hopefully tomorrow will go a little more smoothly.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner, Toby Price, and Kevin Benavides have all successfully completed the first proper day of racing at the 2022 Dakar Rally – a challenging 514 kilometer looped stage from Ha’il to Ha’il. Managing to avoid the worst of the costly navigational issues that affected many of the leading riders, Matthias Walkner finished third fastest, eight-and-a-half minutes down on the day’s stage winner. Kevin Benavides ended the stage in 14th with Toby Price placing 22nd overall. Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci enjoyed a positive day to finish 13th.

As the 11th rider to start today’s special stage following his fifth place finish in the event’s opening prologue, Matthias Walkner pushed hard from the start and, throughout the opening six waypoints, made up good time on the riders ahead of him. Running into a navigational issue mid-way between waypoints six and seven, Walkner was able to quickly find his way and end the stage in a strong third place. Matthias Walkner: “It was a good day but super tricky with the navigation today. The rain certainly made the sand harder and things a little more challenging, but a few of us worked together, riding in a fast, strong group at the end of the stage to make sure that we arrived at the finish in a good way. In the morning the rain made the sand firmer and really nice to ride on, but at the end of the day it was much more challenging and harder to ride on. Although today was a hard day, it’s only the first day of the rally. We saw it last year, you can lose or win 30 minutes or so, but at this early stage in the race that doesn’t mean too much.” While the first true stage of the 2022 Dakar Rally was a good one for Matthias Walkner, for teammate Kevin Benavides it proved to be a highly challenging one. Following his third fastest time in yesterday’s prologue, Kevin opted to start today’s stage as the 13th rider, which for the majority of the special proved to be hugely beneficial. However mid-way between waypoints six and seven, Kevin became one of many riders to make navigational errors, ultimately leading to a loss of time and an eventual 14th place finish. Kevin Benavides: “The only thing I can really say is that today was not the best first day for me. There was a lot of confusion surrounding one note on the road book, which caused a lot of different riders, myself included, to make a mistake. It was such a frustrating situation. Finally, I was able to find the correct track, but of course I lost a lot of time. The important thing is that I felt really good on my bike. There’s a lot of kilometers still to race, so it’s important to stay positive and go again tomorrow, and push for good results.” In stark contrast to his winning ride on stage one of last year’s Dakar Rally, Toby Price unfortunately endured a hugely frustrating opening stage. As one of the many riders to run into the same navigational issue, the Australian would eventually complete the special 47 minutes down on countryman and stage winner Daniel Sanders. Toby Price: “The stage was a bit of a rough one for me today. There was one note that just didn’t seem to add up properly, didn’t quite make sense to me, so I ended up getting lost for 45, maybe 50, minutes. So, not a good way to start the rally. But it’s early days and let’s see what happens. No crashes, so that’s good, but a costly navigation mistake. I’ll keep my head down and keep at it and see what tomorrow brings.” Faring well during his first ever Dakar Rally special stage, Danilo Petrucci was able to benefit from his starting position of 33rd and follow the tracks ahead of him, ending end the stage 13th fastest. Arriving at the troublesome waypoints after the leading riders, the Italian was able to avoid issues and went on to enjoy a notably positive result. Danilo Petrucci: “I’m really, really happy to finish my first real Dakar stage. I was so nervous at the start. Generally, all went ok for me but the 120 kilometers after the refueling seemed really, really long for me, especially with the big dunes.”

Kicking off the 2022 Dakar Rally with all riders posting strong results, the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team have safely completed the event’s opening stage. The team’s best result came from Adrien Van Beveren who delivered a near faultless ride to finish the special as the fourth fastest rider. Frustratingly for both Ross Branch and Andrew Short, difficulty finding a troublesome waypoint cost the duo time with Ross going on to place eighth and Andrew 16th.

A section of wet, sandy desert tracks proved to be an additional hazard on the opening stage of the 2022 Dakar Rally, along with the usual demanding sand dunes, fast, rough tracks, and challenging navigation. Undoubtedly a seriously demanding opening stage, all three Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team riders completed the special unscathed and ready to take on stage two.

Demonstrating exceptional riding skills and navigation throughout the opening 334-kilometre special stage, Adrien Van Beveren made a highly positive start to his Dakar campaign by completing the special as the fourth fastest rider. As the 10th rider to enter the stage, the Frenchman used his impressive pace and roadbook skills to advance up the time sheets, moving to the front and ultimately leading the riders across the day’s finish line.

Ross Branch, much like his teammate Adrien, also moved forwards during the stage to join the leading group of riders before a small crash slowed his progress. Remounting quickly and chasing down the leaders once again, a minor navigational error then cost the Botswana native a couple of minutes. Completing the special as the eighth fastest rider, Ross showed good speed and is now focused on making up lost time tomorrow on stage two.

Opening the special and thoroughly enjoying riding on rain soaked sand dunes, Andrew Short put his motocross skills to effective use across the sandy terrain that formed a large part of the stage. Frustratingly, as the 334-kilometre special neared its conclusion, the American couldn’t locate a problematic waypoint and lost considerable time. With a long way to go in the race, as well as enjoying a highly advantageous starting position for tomorrow’s stage two, Andrew will be doing everything in his power to show what he’s truly capable of.

Competing in the Light Prototype class as part of the Yamaha Powered by X-Raid Team racing in Yamaha YXZ1000R Prototypes, Italian Camelia Liparoti got her 2022 Dakar Rally campaign off to a positive start by completing the technical special just outside the top-10 in 12th place.

Adrien Van Beveren – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team

“Today was tricky, but really enjoyable. I made a small navigation error early on but nothing major and my pace was where it needed to be also. So, it was a slow start but then I was able to ride with Pablo Quintanilla and this really improved my speed. There was some really difficult navigation near the end, but I found my way through and then opened the stage to the finish. I entered the stage in 10th and completed it as the first rider so this has been a great day for me. The focus for tomorrow will be to build from this result and start to build some momentum.”

Ross Branch – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team

“It was an up and down day today but overall I’m happy. I had a crash early on, around kilometre 130 and then I made a pretty big mistake with my navigation, which was frustrating. I lost a couple of minutes there but I’m all good otherwise. I feel good, and my bike is running perfectly. I’m now focused on tomorrow and looking forward to making up for lost time.”

Andrew Short – Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team

“I had a really good day going but then I got lost with a lot of other riders. If the rest of the rally has navigation like we saw today then it’s going to be a tough couple of weeks and I think we’ll see some big swings in the results. It’s a shame to start the rally like this but from now on I can focus on myself, keeping pushing forwards as there’s still a long way to go. The overnight rain made the sand dunes so much fun to ride today and I think we’re in for the same tomorrow so it should be another good one.”

So far, no riders have yet retired.

Results (provisional): Dakar Rally 2022, stage 1B

The legendary 66-year-old rider will ride the bike which started out as the enduro XEF 450, which the Fantic technicians modified with a new frame and bodywork, suspension and beefed-up brakes.

Putting in an impressive performance through the demanding 464km timed special, the Brit made up over six minutes on his rivals.

Despite being shortened from its original 511km, the timed special on stage 11 still proved to be hugely challenging for all competitors. Featuring close to 100km of dunes as well as fast tracks through tricky-to-navigate canyons, the penultimate stage of the Dakar tested the already-exhausted riders to their limits.

Third overall coming into today’s stage and with an advantageous start position of eighth, Sam Sunderland set off 15 minutes behind the rally leader with every intention of chasing him down. Knowing the long special offered a great chance to improve his position in the overall classification, Sunderland made the best use of his speed and experience to close in on his rivals. Taking the lead of the stage by the fourth checkpoint at kilometer 215, the Brit remained in front on time from there to the finish. Although a small navigational error cost him some minutes in the final kilometers, Sam claimed the win on the stage and did enough to move himself up to second in the provisional overall standings.

Sam Sunderland: “I gave my all today – I knew this stage would be one of the best chances I had to make up time on the guys in front. It’s great to win the stage, but it means I have to open tomorrow for the last day, which will be hard. Still, anything can happen as we know, and I’ll keep fighting right to the end. It’s been another really long, tough stage but I’m grateful to be able to just race my bike through the desert, especially with everything that is going on in the world at the moment. I’m grateful to my team too for all the hard work they have put in to get us here. The plan now is to do my best again tomorrow and we’ll see where we are.”

David Knight finished 20th today for 25th overall. Neil Hawker was 34th today for 38th overall.

Overall:

Sam Sunderland:“It was a tough stage for me today, I felt good out there but made a couple of mistakes and lost quite a bit of time. The road book is so complicated this year and it’s not so easy to stick to the right track. I was leading my group earlier and then at one moment, I couldn’t find the way. I tried to follow the caps in the road book but ended up riding around in circles for a couple of minutes. I’m doing my best and this year has certainly proved to be tough for all of us. I’m fit and the bike is good, so hoping for a better day tomorrow.”

Honda’s trio of Ricky Brabec, Joan Barreda and Kevin Benavides dominated the podium in today’s stage. Argentinian Benavides now leads American Brabec by just 51 seconds after more than 40 hours of racing. Sunderland is third, 10mins 36secs behind.

David Knight was 31st and 44th went to Neil Hawker. The Brits are 26th and 39th respectively in the overall race.

At 511km, the timed section on stage 11 is the longest of the rally tomorrow. Leading from AlUla to Yanbu, the route will cover a variety of terrain, with a section of dunes mid-stage lasting for close to 100km. Accurate navigation through this area will prove vital in earning a good stage time.

Provisional Results Stage 10 – 2021 Dakar Rally

Provisional Standings (after stage 10) – 2021 Dakar Rally