Wow, the first day of real racing in the 2022 Dakar Rally did not dissapoint. Big losses to the top contenders shakes up the overall standings with a long way to go. What happened? We dig in and discuss.
GasGas Factory Racing's Daniel Sanders took his win in yesterday's prologue and doubled up with another win in Stage 1B, the first real day of rally racing in this 44th edition of the Dakar Rally.
Meanwhile, American youngster and Dakar rookie Mason Klein absolutely nailed his way through today's stage, avoiding errors and blitzing to 4th overall on the stage, 5th in the general standings going into stage two tomorrow.
Using his chosen 15th starting position to his advantage, Sanders was fast and sailed through a very tricky navigation spot near the end of the special stage to gain big time on his main rivals, and maintains the race lead heading into the marathon stages two and three.
Major time losses for a big group of riders including defending champion Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Andrew Short (Monster Energy Yamaha), Joan Barreda and Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) and Luciano Benevides (Factory Husqvarna).