Al-Attiyah is proclaimed king of the Dakar with his fourth title

Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) certified, in the twelfth and last stage disputed this Friday between Bisha and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), his room Dakar in the category of cars, after those achieved in 2011, 2015, 2019, surpassing the general by 27’46” Frenchman Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) y en 1h1’13” al piloto local Yazeed Al Rajhi.

Fourth place overall went to the pair formed by the Argentine driver Orlando Terranova and the Spanish co-pilot Daniel Oliveras Careers, which ended at 1h27’23 & rdquor ;.

Loeb had an almost impossible mission ahead of him on the last day as it was a timed stage (special) of only 168 kilometres; He tried but could not, cutting the Qatari by only five minutes and 33 seconds in a stage in which he finished second and was won by the South African Henk Lategan (Toyota)

🏆 @AlAttiyahN and @matthieubaumel won #Dakar2022! 👏 pic.twitter.com/VsCBoULgrH

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022

Sainz, out of the top positions

On the other hand, the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Audi), who won yesterday’s stage, Thursday, accused of opening the track and lost 9’16” with respect to the winner, which leaves him in eleventh position in the provisional general classification in cars.

A classification to which he said goodbye on the second day of competition after wasting over two hours trying to find a checkpoint that, he considered, “erroneously signposted & rdquor; in the road book; but the organization did not consider it that way and both the three-time Dakar winner and most of the riders saw their options frustrated at the first change.

Despite this and the problems with Audi’s shock absorbers, the German brand and its innovative hybrid vehicle achieved four stage victories, which were about to be five since the Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel caressed it this Friday, remaining 49” from Lategan.

The podium was completed by a surprising Brian Baragwanath (Century Racing), at 1’51”.

The Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) certified in the twelfth and last stage held this Friday between Bisha and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) his fourth Dakar in the car category, after those achieved in 2011, 2015 and 2019, beating the French in the general Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) y al piloto local Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota).

The Frenchman had an almost impossible mission on the last day as it was a timed section (special) of only 168 kilometers; He tried, but could not, cutting only five minutes and 33 seconds from the Qatari.

In motorcycles Sunderland prevails

As for the motorcycle section, it was the British Sam Sunderland, of the Spanish Gas Gas team, which has the support of the Austrian brand KMT, who got his second Dakar in the motorcycle category, after winning it in 2017, by winning the general classification ahead of the Chilean Paul Quintanilla (Honda), winner of the twelfth stage held this Friday between Bisha and Yeda, and the Austrian Matthias Walkner (KMT).

🏍💨 @Sundersam on his way to his 2nd Dakar title. 😍#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/JngTr0dImN

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022

It was not an official team that took the victory, but after 18 consecutive years in which a KTM prevailed in the desert, the Japanese Honda added two editions in a row achieving the victory, so in 2022 the Austrian breaks this streak and gets her first ‘Touareg’ in Saudi Arabia.

And he does it with surprise since they ‘snatched’ Honda, the current champion until this Friday, from the Argentine Kevin Benavides; but the 36 minutes lost on the second day of competition and, above all, the mechanical problems of stage 10 prevented him from fighting to defend his crown.

🎙 Here are @Sundersam‘s first words at the finish. 🏁

🏆 The british rider just won the #Dakar2022! 👏 pic.twitter.com/pg0OTh3OZi

— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022

One that Quintanilla fought for Honda to retain until the last stage, despite the fact that the timed section (special) had only 163 kilometers and most of the track, without overly complicating the riders beyond some difficulty in navigation. Finally, he could only cut 3’25 & rdquor; that served to certify his second place in the general classification, at 3’27 & rdquor; from Sunderlands.

Third, at 6’47”, was a Walkner who, despite taking the lead in the ninth stage, could not maintain said place of privilege.

Barreda finishes fifth

The best Spaniard on two wheels was a Joan Barreda (Honda) who ran from the fifth stage with the fractured clavicle. He crashed again in eighth and still finished fifth overall. For his part, Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) finished in 12th position at 58’26” of the winner.

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A twelfth stage, disputed between Bisha and Yeda, which, as expected, did not change the first places in the general classification but which had a fight until the end. Quintanilla took five seconds off the American Ricky Brabec (Honda) and 18″ to Australian Toby Price (Honda) to finish a Dakar in which he equals his best result (2nd in 2020).