Dakar 2022 Stage 11: Podium For Joaquim Rodrigues And Hero MotoSports, Harith Noah In Top 20

The penultimate stage (Stage 11) of Dakar 2022 looped around Bisha with the route spanning 501km, out of which 346km comprises the special stage. Competitors were treated to dunes of all shapes and sizes which ended in a strong showing for the Indian presence. Here’s everything that transpired heading into the finale of the prestigious rally:

It was a strong day for Hero MotoSports in the bikes category, with Joaquim Rodrigues finishing on the podium in third place, with teammate Aaron Mare finishing 25th. While Harith Noah was taken out of the rally in Stage 10, the Indian rider could still complete Dakar 2022 under the Dakar Experience category. And he bounced back from his Stage 10 setback in fine style, finishing in 19th position.  

Joining Rodrigues in the podium was Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM Racing) who won the stage ahead of Sam Sunderland (GasGas) in second place. This result puts Sundlerland back into the lead of the overall standings ahead of Pablo Quitanilla (Monster Energy Honda) in second place, with Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Racing) third overall. Joaquim Rodrigues moved up to 14th overall for Hero MotoSports, with teammate Aaron Mare in 16th position. 

It was another win for Team Audi Sport in the cars category via Carlos Sainz, with Lucio Alvarez (Overdrive Toyota) finishing second and Sainz’ teammate Mattiaas Ekstrom rounding off the top three finishers. In the overall standings, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) is in prime position for the win ahead of Sebastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) in second place, with Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Toyota) third. 

It all comes down to the 12th and final stage of Dakar 2022, spanning 680km, out of which 164km will make up the special stage. The final stretch will have competitors travel from Bisha, back to where it all started in Jeddah.