RALLY DAKAR 2022

Sainz makes history for Audi

The Dakar is already starting its third day with a historical record and the leadership of one of its legends. After a troubled start to the journey, Audi finally had reason to smile at the 2022 edition in Saudi Arabia. Spaniard Carlos Sainz got, this Tuesday, the first victory in specials with the RS Q e-tron, the first electric car to win a stage of the biggest cross-country rally in the world. The triumph came in the dispute of the 255km timed stretch in Al Qaisumah. In the overall standings, after three stages, Prince Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar is still the big favorite for the title. Toyota's Qatari sweated cold with the chance of even being disqualified, but he escaped the harshest punishment and remains in the lead.

As for Nasser, the International Automobile Federation (FIA, for its French acronym) detected that his Toyota Hilux's engine data logging system was disconnected during the second special. According to article 13.1.2 of the Sporting Regulations established by the entity for the competition, which is now part of the World Cup, such infraction is even subject to disqualification. But the organization forgave Al-Attiyah for the fact that it was the first time that the rule had been violated and determined a much lighter punishment: a fine of 5,000 euros

Winner of the second special, on Monday, Sébastien Loeb opened the field and started ahead on Tuesday. However, the legendary French driver lost a lot of time due to two flat tires and still faced a problem in the transmission when there were 10 minutes to the end of the special. Loeb managed to cross the finish zone, but only in 26th place.

Audi had a really great day, with its three cars in the top five of the special. The French multi-champion Stéphane Peterhansel finished third, while the Swede Mattias Ekström finished fifth. The Top 5 was completed by Spaniard Nani Roma in fourth position.

In turn, Al-Attiyah finished eighth in the special. In the overall standings, Nasser leads with 37min40s ahead of Loeb, while Argentine Lucio Álvarez is third, with a deficit of 42min06s for the leader. Carlos Sainz appears in 25th overall. He lost two hours due to a navigation error, in the second special.

On motorcycles, Tuesday marked a historic day for Joaquim Rodrigues and Hero(image below). Brother-in-law of Paulo Gonçalves, who died while competing in the biggest rally in the world in the 2020 edition, the Portuguese won a special of the race for the first time and, in addition, also in an unprecedented way, took the Indian brand to the top. This Tuesday's special was modified by the organization of the Dakar due to heavy rains in the Al Artawiyah region. The stage was shortened by 100km, had an initial displacement of 214km, a timed stretch of 255km and a final displacement of 166km.

The rains, in a way, even favored the drivers, who faced heavier sand and, consequently, more adherent. The climate scenario, however, is still quite different from what happened in the city of Tabuk, hit by a rare snowfall last Saturday.

The race was dominated by the sensation of the Dakar in this first part of the 2022 edition. Daniel Sanders, however, lost pace in the final stretch of the route and dropped to fifth, in a scenario that was configured in Rodrigues' first victory, always very close to the pointers from the beginning of the special. Toby Price, from the KTM factory team, was second, ahead of surprise Mason Klein, an American who races with KTM but from a private team. Skyler Howes was Husqvarna's fourth, ahead of Sanders of GasGas.

Honda's Joan Barreda paid a dear price for having started at the front. Winner of last Monday's stage, the Spanish veteran lost a lot of time in a complicated journey and finished the special only 24th. Honorable mention for Danilo Petrucci, who withdrew from the Dakar race due to fuel pump problems on his KTM bike and did not complete Monday's special. However, as an apprenticeship, the Italian is still in the test, albeit with an 11-hour penalty. Even so, the former MotoGP rider was happy to continue on the Dakar. On Tuesday, he was placed 22nd overall.

In terms of the general dispute of the Dakar, the battle continues very fierce, with four seconds separating first and second placed on the bikes. Sam Sunderland, only 17th on Tuesday, leads with GasGas, but with a tiny advantage over Yamaha's Adrien Van Beveren, ninth in the third special. Matthias Walkner appears in third, ahead of Skyler Hoes and Daniel Sanders. Joaquim Rodrigues, in turn, is the 17th in the general classification.

Autonews