The 2022 Dakar Rally has begun! Stage 1A (the prologue) featured a short 20km special stage and a long liaison to set up the first real racing stages of the 44th running of this awesome race. Find out what went down on New Year's Day and what we think the next few days look like for the competitors.
Daniel Sanders (GasGas Factory Team) came out swinging and showed his aggressive special test speed with a win in Stage 1A of the 2022 Dakar Rally. (Monster Energy Honda's) Pablo Quintanilla finished only a minute behind Sanders on the day (after a 5-factor coefficient applied). Finishing third on the day was Ross Branch (Monster Yamaha Rally), showing the Yamaha team is serious about their racing redemption at this year's race.
Tomorrow is the first real day of racing for 2022 with a massive 300km+ timed special test. And that sets up Stages 2 and 3 which bookend the only Marathon stage of the rally. Then, Stage 4 comes around the corner like an angry gorilla with the longest timed special section of the year with more than 450km of special on tap. It's about to get real wild, real quick at this year's Dakar Rally.
We can't wait for tomorrow!