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One more day to run in 2022 Dakar RallyAn outstanding ride from Britain’s Sam Sunderland has seen him retake the lead with just one stage left in the 2022 Dakar Rally.

Everyone knew stage 11 would be a pivotal day of racing at the Dakar and, oh boy, it sure was and now there’s just 163 kilometres of racing to go to wrap it all up for 2022.

After losing a little time in stage 10, the pressure was well and truly on Sunderland, who in no uncertain terms needed to deliver a flawless ride to keep his chances of a second Dakar win alive.

And that’s exactly what he did. Putting together a stand-out performance, Sunderland navigated perfectly, attacked from the start, and finished second on the stage, just four seconds behind the eventual winner.

Now, with just one day of racing to go, the GasGas Factory Racing ace sits at the top of the leader-board with a near seven-minute advantage over his nearest rival, Chilean Honda rider Pablo Quintanilla.

“Today was a really tough one,” said Sunderland. “We were expecting it to be difficult and even four kilometres in there were lines everywhere in the sand.

“From there on I had to focus on myself and stay on top of my roadbook, it wasn’t really an option to follow the lines ahead. Through the dunes I was able to make up some time, which was good and I just missed out on another stage win. Up until now the race has gone really well, the whole team behind me has been fantastic but the race isn’t over until it’s over.

“All I can do is hope for a clean run through tomorrow’s stage and then we’ll see where we end up.”

In rally racing, starting any stage a handful of riders behind the first rider generally proves to be an advantage, but with the navigation incredibly tricky on the penultimate stage of the rally, it was every man for himself out there in the desert.

Photo courtesy GasGas

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Results Stage 11:

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Benavides Kevin 1 ARG Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM 03:30’56
2 Sunderland Sam 3 GBR Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas +00:00’04
3 Rodrigues Joaquim 27 POR Hero Motorsports Team Rally Hero +00:02’26
4 Walkner Matthias 52 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +00:04’54
5 Brabec Ricky 2 USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:05’22
6 Quintanilla Pablo 7 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:07’40
7 Cornejo José Ignacio 11 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:08’05
8 Short Andrew 29 USA Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team Yamaha +00:15’46
9 Svitko Stefan 142 SLO Slovnaft Rally Team KTM +00:17’51
10 Giemza Maciej 22 POL Orlen Team KTM +00:20’55
11 Nosiglia Daniel 54 BOL Rieju – FN Speed Team Rieju +00:21’22
12 Van Beveren Adrien 42 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team Yamaha +00:21’33
13 de Soultrait Xavier 12 FRA HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing Husqvarna +00:21’45
14 Santolino Lorenzo 15 SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +00:23’33
15 Noah Harith 20 IND Sherco TVS Rally Factory Sherco +00:23’38
16 Barreda Joan 88 SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:25’10

Rider Standings

Provisional Standings after Stage 11:

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Sunderland Sam 3 GBR Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas 37:04’05
2 Quintanilla Pablo 7 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:06’52
3 Walkner Matthias 52 AUT Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +00:07’15
4 Van Beveren Adrien 42 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team Yamaha +00:15’30
5 Barreda Joan 88 SPA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:27’54
6 Brabec Ricky 2 USA Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:37’24
7 Cornejo José Ignacio 11 CHI Monster Energy Honda Team Honda +00:41’02
8 Short Andrew 29 USA Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team Yamaha +00:43’40
9 Price Toby 18 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team KTM +00:52’27
10 Svitko Stefan 142 SLO Slovnaft Rally Team KTM +00:53’38

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