The 44th edition of the Dakar Rally has come to a close. At the top, the expected greats triumphed, of course. Nasser Al-Attiyah dominated the Cars class. Sam Sunderland won in the Bikes category, and the Kamaz team destroyed the competition in the Trucks with a top-four sweep. However, we look at some historic achievements below the surface that may have slipped under the radar. The 2022 Dakar Rally has had its moments of heartbreak, as well as a few crying tears of joy. These are the key historical moments that took place this year at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
First Saudi Driver On The Podium
Qatari-driver Nasser Al-Attiyah, and French Co-driver Matthieu Baumel went on to win their fourth Dakar in 2022 dominating the pack with a gap of nearly half an hour. But behind him, Yazeed Al Rajhi was the first Saudi driver ever to stand on a Dakar overall podium. Al Rajhi finished third overall on home soil with co-driver Michael Orr. They finished nearly half an hour behind Sebastian Loeb and Fabian Lurquin in the BRX bio-fuel-powered car.
There have been many stories in the Car category this year, but this was the biggest by far. The Saudi driver finished every stage in the top 20, but his best performance came on the 350-mile-long Stage 6 where he brought his Toyota Hilux 4x4 home third fastest for Overdrive Toyota.
Audi Electrifying The Dakar
Audi roped in three pairs of the finest competitors to have competed in motorsport. On a venture to shape the future of the Dakar rally itself, they entered three Audi ES Q e-Tron electric-powered buggies. The cars would be assisted with petrol engines disguised as onboard range extenders.
After incidents early in the rally raid, the Audi drivers repeatedly found themselves with broken rear shock absorbers. An early crash also put Stephane Peterhansel to withdraw from overall contention. While the rally started in the least ideal way for the team, they persevered. All three Audi cars claimed stage wins, with a total of four for Audi Sport. Carlos Sainz won Stage 3, going down in history as the first electric powered vehicle to take a Dakar stage win. In the 515-mile-long stage 8, Mattias Ekstrom took his first Dakar stage victory, with Peterhansel in second and Sainz in fourth for the day. Stage 10 saw the 14 time Dakar winner, Peterhansel claim the stage win for Audi Sport. Sainz then won Stage 11 for good measure.
Showing the efforts of Team Audi Sport and the hybrid-powered RS Q e-Tron as the prime example. The Dakar has committed to reducing its carbon footprint and emissions, welcoming more innovative vehicles with alternative fuels in the future.
Petrucci’s Unparalleled Dexterity
No one in the history of MotoGP had ever won at the grueling Dakar Rally. However, Former MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci entered the Dakar with the sole purpose of “Finishing the Rally”. Little did the Italian rider know that he would create history. Petrucci’s was out of the overall running after his KTM developed an electrical fault. However, he persevered and continued to ride through the storm.
On stage 5, Petrucci created history by becoming the first MotoGP rider to ever win a Dakar Rally stage by the skin of his teeth with a gap of just +0.02. The Italian rider suffered several big accidents on his Dakar debut, riding over 4,900 miles on his KTM. He finished the final 422-mile long Stage 12 to complete the 2022 Dakar Rally on his first attempt.
Quintero Bags A Record 11 Wins
In Dakar 2021, American driver Seth Quintero was the youngest driver ever to win a Dakar Rally stage. This year, aged 19, Quintero aimed to become the youngest driver to ever win the Dakar Rally. However, a broken differential in Stage 2 saw Quintero lose 16 hours to the leader and was out of overall contention. As consolation, Quintero took home another vital record that shows the young driver is one to watch in the coming years. Out of the 12 possible stages, Quintero won 11 competitive stages of the rally, dominating the Lightweight Prototype Vehicles class.
However, Quintero believed that his woes on stage 2 helped him claim the record. On the Dakar website, Quintero was quoted saying “I could have been driving differently on these last 10 stages, and we might not have got any wins. I think it was a blessing in disguise. It took a lot of pressure off us, and I really just had a lot of fun for all the Dakar. We are now the sole record holder for the most stage wins on a single Dakar, which is absolutely mind-blowing.”
After his mechanical issues in stage 2, Quintero won 10 stages consecutively and broke the previous record by Pierre Lartigue back in 1994.
Image Source: Dakar.com, Red Bull Content Pool, Audi