Tag: Dakar Rally

Two-time Dakar Winner Sam Sunderland Retires From Racing

The 2019 Cross-Country Rallies World Champion, 2022 World Rally-Raid Champion and two-time Dakar winner Sam Sunderland retires from racing at a professional level.

The 35-year-old first started riding motocross until a big accident at 16 forced some time away from racing until a holiday in Dubai inspired the switch to rally raids. This led to his Dakar debut in 2012 for Honda, and the first stage win for a British rider in more than a decade in 2014.

A switch to KTM saw him win the Dakar in 2017, alongside other overall rally wins in Morocco and Qatar. In 2022 he switched to GASGAS, and immediately won the 2022 Dakar Rally on the RX450F, the first win for the manufacturer, followed by taking his second Rally Raid title.

Two-time Dakar Winner Sam Sunderland Retires From RacingSam Sunderland has called time on a successful rally raid racing career
Sam Sunderland has called time on a successful rally raid racing career

Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager: “We would like to say a massive thank you to Sam for his time with Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing. I speak for the whole team when I say we’re sad to hear that Sam is retiring from racing, but we completely respect his decision and thank him for everything he has done for us over the years. Beyond being a phenomenal racer, Sam is a fantastic person – always supportive, motivating, and a true team player. He is a huge part of the GASGAS family, and we look forward to working with him again in new and exciting ways in the future.”

Pit Beirer – Motorsports Director: “Sam joined the company back in 2014, and since then his passion, dedication, and results have been exceptional. He not only secured two world championships and two Dakar victories, but he played a massive part in the successes of the whole team. Over the years, our relationship with Sam became stronger and stronger, and with his move to Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing in 2022, he continued to make history. While it’s tough to see Sam go, we respect his decision. I’d like to personally thank Sam for everything he put into the team and wish him well for the future.”

Check out more articles on all forms of motorcycle racing, here. Along with our coverage of previous Dakar events.

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The Pitfalls of Buying a Cheap S5, Audi Promises Exciting EVs, New A4 Spy Shots & More! | AudiWorld Driven

AudiWorld DrivenAudiWorld Driven series to get you caught up. As always, we rounded up the hottest Audi news, reviews, videos, and AudiWorld forum discussions from the past week just for you. This week incudes a look back by Team Audi Sport at the unfortunate results from the 2023 Dakar. AudiWorld forum members discuss what other vehicles they would buy if the new A4 is disappointing. Speaking of the new A4, we get a good look at the new A4 Avant. A popular YouTuber buys a cheap S5 V8 6-speed and discovers that everything is broken. There is a lot to cover this week so let’s get to it.

Audi Promises ICE-levels of Excitement in EVs

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Must Watch Video: 16 Days of Disappointment at Dakar 2023

Audi came into the 2023 Dakar with high hopes. But the Dakar is a cruel and unforgiving race and Audi saw that firsthand this year. Things were actually going quite well until Stage 6. Big crashes and other setbacks then struck and eliminated any hope of Audi taking home the top prize. A video was recently posted on the Audi YouTube channel that summarizes their Dakar effort this year.

Forum Thread of the Week: Hate the New A4? What Else Would You Buy?

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2024 A4 Avant Drops Its Disguise

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Must Watch Video: $7K Audi S5 Has Laundry List of Issues

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Click HERE to join the AudiWorld forums!

Audi 2022 Sales Down, Dakar Disaster, Driving an S1 Rally Car & More! | AudiWorld Driven

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Must Watch Video: Audi Quattro MEGA Test, Flat Out in S1 Group B Monster

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Sam Sunderland Retakes The Dakar 2022 Lead After Stage 11

The British rider tops the standings for the final day of racing as Sam Sunderland retakes the Dakar 2022 lead after Stage 11. Riding for the GASGAS Factory Racing team, the 2017 winner finished the 345km special in second place, just four seconds behind Kevin Benavides. And that has earned Sunderland a gap of six minutes and 52 seconds at the top of the rankings.

Sam Sunderland Retakes The Dakar 2022 Lead After Stage 11Sunderland has a 6 minute and 52 second lead with just one stage left in the 2022 Dakar
Sunderland has a 6 minute and 52 second lead with just one stage left in the 2022 Dakar

Sam Sunderland: “Today was a really tough one. We were expecting it to be difficult and even four kilometers 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.”

Dakar 2022 Stage 11 Results:

  • Kevin Benavides 3:30.56
  • Sam Sunderland 3:31.00
  • Joaquim Rodrigues 3:33.22
  • Matthias Walkner 3:35.50
  • Ricky Brabec 3:36.18

Dakar 2022 Overall Standings After Stage 11

  • Sam Sunderland 37:04.05
  • Pablo Quintanilla 37:10.57
  • Matthias Walkner 37:11.20
  • Adrien Van Beveren 37:19.35
  • Joan Barreda Bort 37:31.59.

David McBride finished Stage 11 in 57th place, with David Mabbs in 101st and Simon Hewitt in 113th.. That means McBride is now 46th overall, with Mabbs in 89th and Hewitt 11th, out of a total of 125 riders still classified overall.

Mirjam Pol has maintained a lead of more than three hours in the Women’s Trophy, Mason Klein continues to lead both the Rally 2 and Rally 2 Junior Trophy, and Arunas Gelazninkas leads the Original by Motul class. In the Veterans Trophy, Mario Patrao has extended his lead over David McBride to almost an hour, but second place is still a battle with Mikael Despontin 14 minutes behind in third.

Check out all our coverage of everything related to motorcycle racing and sport, here.

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Toby Price Wins Dakar 2022 Stage 10

Australian KTM rider Toby Price wins Dakar 2022 Stage 10, keeping the two-time winner in contention for the overall victory as Adrien Van Beveren takes over the top of the standings from Matthias Walkner.

The 759km ride between Wadi Ad Dawasir and Bisha included a 375km timed special which saw Price finished ahead of Luciano Benavides and Van Beveren, with Lorenzo Santolino and Andrew Short rounding out the top five. Sam Sunderland finished 17th on the stage, keeping second place overall, with Walkner ending the day in 26th, meaning that it was Honda’s Pablo Quintanilla who moved up to third in the fight for the 2022 Dakar title.

Toby Price Wins Dakar 2022 Stage 10
Toby Price Wins Dakar 2022 Stage 10

Toby Price: “It’s been a really good day for me today. I focused on my roadbook the whole way and did a good job with my navigation with only a couple of small mistakes over the whole stage. I’ve moved nicely up the order overall, but there is still a bit of a gap to the front guys. As we know, anything can happen in rally, so I’ll give it my all for these last two days and we’ll see where we end up.”

Sam Sunderland: “Day 10 is in the books and it was a tough one. Early on, Mason Klein crashed so I stopped to make sure he was ok as it looked like he’d had a big one, but I think he’s ok. I then set off and things were going good. I felt strong on the bike and my pace was solid. But then I ended up in the wrong canyon near the end and lost a bit of time. With two days to go and the times so close, it’s too close to call. It’s wide open so it certainly makes for an exciting race!”

Unfortunately Kevin Benavides was forced to retire due to a technical issue, but the reigning Dakar champion hopes to rejoin, alongside Danilo Petrucci, who continued after he was also forced out of the overall standings early on.

Dakar 2022 Stage 10 results:

  • Toby Price 3:05.22
  • Luciano Benavides 3:07.41
  • Adrien Van Beveren 3:09.07
  • Lorenzo Santolino 3:11.12
  • Andrew Short 3:12.01

Dakar Overall Standings After Stage 10

  • Adrien Van Beveren 33:27.06
  • Sam Sunderland 33:33.05
  • Pablo Quintanilla 33:33.21
  • Matthias Walkner 33:35.30
  • Joan Barreda Bort 33:37.53

British rider David McBride claimed 46th on Stage 10 with team-mate David Mabbs in 102nd, and Simon Hewitt 120th. McBride is now 47th overall, with Mabbs 93rd and Hewitt 113th. The Women’s Trophy looks set for HT Rally raid Husvarna Racing rider Mirjam Pol, who leads by more than three hours from Sandra Gomez. And despite his crash early in Stage 10, Mason Klein now leads the Junior Trophy by 2 hours and 11 minutes. In the Veteran Trophy, McBride is second, lying 39 minutes bheind leader Mario Patrao.

But it’s the overall rankings which are closest during the final stages of the 2022 Dakar, with the top five separated by around 10 minutes after more than 33 hours of riding. And the top 13 riders are all within 50 minutes of the leader in an event where anything can, and often does, happen. Meanwhile 128 riders remain classified, with simply finishing the Dakar being a notable achievement. And this just two stages left, the winner of the Dakar 2022 will soon be decided.

Check out all our coverage of everything related to motorcycle racing and sport, here.

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