Different scripts. The race of cars is simple, and the absolute thriller of motorcycles. The difficult and two-sided Dakar ends with a great competitive vision in which no one has appeared
January 15, 2022
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, January 14. 44 editions are in the archive. On the last one, just concluded in Jeddah at the end of a two-week circumnavigation, we can begin to think. After 12 days and 8,000 kilometers of action the culmination is represented by the extraordinary victories of Sam Sunderland e Nasser Al Attiyah, the latter with Mathieu Baumel. Did they deserve it? How did they build their victory? What if …?
Auto
Land Auto. The race of the Prince of Qatar could be summed up in four words: beautiful but without history. It turns out the importance of being ready at the right time. Both Al Attiyah and Toyota were and it was not by chance that Nasser participated in 6 Olympics. In this Dakar Al Attiyah won a little, two days, and everyone won a bit, Sainz, Lategan, Terannova, Ekstrom, Devilliers, Peterhansel, but from the first to the last day he was in command of the race. The objections: Al Attiyah he had no opponents. True, but it wasn’t just him who downsized or eliminated them. The “Prince” Hilux benefited from the advantages of the new regulations and had been defined and tested well in advance. True. The BRX of Loeb, Roma and Tarranova is also a T1 + it was ready for some time, and it immediately proved competitive, but it could not be proven enough in racing.
And then. The Minis weren’t there, as they are now rental cars, and as for the Audis they were simply too new to hit the mark on the first try. All very good, in short, but Al Attiyah was more so. Audi tried a brace, Toyota responded with a sharp 1-2-3. AUDI and BRX have won 3 Stages, Toyota 5. There is no question about the value of individuality, Sainz, Loeb, Peterhansel are champions, and then it must be admitted: with four Dakar won to his credit, Al Attiyah is also a champion. Finally, the duel between Al Attiyah and Loeb was very interesting, at times exciting and very “promising”, but Loeb had a problem, Al Attiyah no, and that lost half hour made it impossible for Loeb to win. .
Of Italians we will talk again. Totani and Totani, with their “3 Tons of History”, Sanz-Gerini, 23rd overall.
Motorcycle
Land Motorcycles. Did Sunderland deserve to win? Give me the name of a sportsman who wins and does not deserve. Sunderland was the pilot more attentive to strategy and he managed to win and not make mistakes every day. Few others expressed the same general level of concentration, even taking away that second day characterized by heavy navigation errors. After two days the situation was disconcerting, it seemed that only Sunderland, Walkner and Van Beveren were left to win. Brabec, Price, Cornejo, Barreda, Quintanilla, Branch, Short, all were or seemed completely out of the game, and of the expected, vast confrontation between KTM and Honda, they were left just individual flashes.
Instead the motorcycle race has become one of the most compelling of the last years. Sunderland and Walkner had the race under control, or so it seemed, and the Hondas were gone. Halfway through the race, two accelerations. Van Beveren comes out and takes the lead, Quintanilla and Kevin Benavides make up for most of the delay and re-enter the game. With 4 days to go Van Beveren is back in the lead, Quintanilla climbs to second place, and Kevin Benavides breaks. The tenth stage becomes crucial, and the eleventh unties part of the tactical knot. It is the most difficult of the Rally. Sunderland in the lead, Quintanilla and Walkner chasing neighbors, Van Beveren made the wrong tactic and breaks away from the trio of fugitives. The last stage is not a formality, Quintanilla can still win, but Sunderland starts the attack together with Benavides, who becomes a precious ally. The Argentine leads the way, the Englishman can run fast, contain Quintanilla’s onslaught, and win.
The Podium. Sunderland, GasGas, second time winner, Quintanilla, Honda, and Walkner, KTM. Danilo Petrucci, Franco Picco, other Italians deserve a separate discussion.
Dramas
Linitial explosion and final tragedy. Two days before the Dakar kicks off, Philippe Boutron’s car, Sodicars Team, blows up. Nobody says it’s a bomb, everyone thinks it. Also because no one denies it. Even at the Quai d’Orsay the subject is treated with the utmost seriousness and confidentiality. A is started investigation and the organizers are invited to reflect on the opportunity for the Dakar to continue.
It is mentioned, but the information is never completed, the investigation is lost in silence and everything remains substantially outstanding. So the Dakar goes on. Philippe Boutron, his legs torn by the explosion, is slowly recovering from a very serious situation. The bombs continued to be thought of every time one of the thousands of Police Toyota FJ Cruisers who escorted the Rally was seen. On the last day, however, the crew chief of the HP Sport Team has died, Quentin Lavalée, twenty years old, during the transfer to the arrival of the Speciale. The pickup truck he was traveling on collided with a truck and was destroyed. Maxim Frere, now hospitalized in Jeddah, traveled with Lavalée.
© Immagini ASO Mediateque – KTM – GAS GAS Media – Husqvarna – Red Bull Content Pool – Audi Media – Honda – Hero – Toyota Gazoo – BRX – X-raid – Yamaha – MM ItalTrans.
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