Dakar 2022 Stage 1 & 2: Steady Start For Hero MotoSports And Harith Noah

2022 kicked off with the prestigious Dakar 2022 kicking off in Saudi Arabia over the weekend with the first couple of stages done and dusted. The opening stage began in two parts, with a qualifying stage from Jeddah to the city of Ha’il with the main stage being a looped section of sandy terrains that covered 333km of the special stage. The latest stage had competitors leave Ha’il and tackle a chain of dunes to make their way to Al Qaisumah, 339km away. Here’s everything that transpired. 

For the Indian presence it was a steady start at Dakar 2022 in the bikes category. The Hero MotoSports squad of Aaron Mare and Joaquim Rodrigues managed to finish in 11th and 22nd position, with Harith Noah, the sole Indian rider in the rally, finishing in 34th position. The second stage saw progress, with Aaron Mare and Joaquim Rodrigues making their way up to 10th and 6th positions, and Harith Noah finishing 27th. This currently leaves Aaron Mare and Joaquim Rodrigues 9th and 18th In the overall standings, with Harith Noah ranked 32nd. 

In the bikes category, it was a topsy-turvy run of results with Daniel Sanders winning the first stage for GasGas, and Joan Barreda taking top honors in the second stage for Monster Energy Honda . In the overall standings, it is Sam Sunderland (GasGas) leading ahead of Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Yamaha) in second place, with Daniel Sanders third overall.

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Heading into the cars category, it was Nasser Al-Attiyah drawing first blood for Toyota Gazoo Racing with Sebastien Loeb taking top honors in the latest stage for Bahrain Raid Xtreme. Carlos Sainz was on the podium for Team Audi Sport’s maiden Dakar outing, but the team has had a difficult start with the previous edition’s winner, Stephane Peterhansel already out of contention due to a crash in the opening stage. Nasser Al-Attiyah currently remains on top in the overall standings followed by Sebastien Loeb in second place, and Lucio Alvarez (Overdrive Toyota) in third place. 

Next up is Stage 3  which will cover up to 636km in Al Qaisumah, with 255km of it being a special stage.