runner-up , Pablo Quintanilla . “ This year ' s Dakar has been difficult for me personally , to get back into the fight after a bad start .”
To say that Dakar 2022 was the closest run event in the history of the world ’ s toughest race would be an understatement of epic proportions .
The 3 minute 27 second gap between Sunderland and Quintanilla as they crossed the finish line in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah was the slimmest margin at the top of the leaderboard since 1994 , when Edi Orioli rode his Cagiva Elefant to finish 1 minute 13 seconds ahead of Jordi Arcarons on a similar bike .
Leading into this year ’ s Dakar Sunderland ’ s star had been on the wane , a drought of five years had seen him dropped to the KTM ‘ satellite ’ team , GASGAS . Despite being outshone by his much more flamboyant teammate , Sanders , in the early days of the Dakar the Brit kept his head .
Meanwhile , three other former champions embarked on an impossible mission after flopping in the opening stages ; it was 2021 all over again for Toby Price ( KTM ) and Ricky Brabec ( Honda ), joined by the defending champion , Kevin Benavides ( KTM ), this time round . Only Matthias Walkner ( KTM ), also a previous winner , and Adrien Van Beveren ( Yamaha ) were able to match Sunderland blow for blow . The GASGAS rider delivered the coup de grâce with a win
Pic - HORACIO CABILLA
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