The Dakar 2022 never ceases to amaze and on the 6th stage the motorcyclists strike for the too dangerous track. Right choice or excess of fear?
After about 100km of the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally, the motorcyclists stopped protesting for the very dangerous conditions of their track, crossed by cars and trucks the previous day which in fact made it very difficult. Anyway good Lucci and Petrucci.
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Stage 6 - Riyadh> Riyadh
For the last day of racing before the rest day, the cars and motorcycle they started at the same time from 7:45 onwards on their respective specials. While the cars found the tracks dug by the two wheels on the previous day on the ground in front of them, the leading motorcyclists, accustomed to tackling immaculate tracks or at least marked only by some of their colleagues who led the way, was an unprecedented experience. .
With craters and canyons carved out by cars and trucks on the previous day, Daniel Sanders covered just XNUMX kilometers to take his third stage win at the Dakar Rally, with a time that allowed him to get on the provisional podium and overtake Adrien Van Beveren in the overall standings.
Thus, before the rest day, the riders only covered a small portion of the track. A choice that can certainly be shared from the point of view of safety but contested by some private pilots who are quite accustomed to these conditions starting from the rear. Just Tiziano Internò underlined this condition, or rather the difficulties of the terrain that are created by the passage of cars and trucks as well as the often dangerous traffic, but which none of the pursuers has ever contested because it is part of the Dakar.
Stage 7 - Riyadh> Al Dawadimi
So after a day of rest, spent in fact setting up all the vehicles, the circus left for Al Dawadimi. The stage of over 700 km with over 400 special stages then punished everyone, with an extreme terrain of rock, stones, sand and many difficulties.
This route knocked out Daniel Sanders while he turbo-charged Ignacio Cornejo, who returned to the sailing scene by winning his third special stage in this Dakar and his fourth in his career on Honda. But the big winner of the day was Adrien Van Beveren, who was rewarded for his consistency by returning to the top of the overall standings. He now has a margin of 5'12 ″ over the formidable Matthias Walkner.
Very good Lucci who arrives 26th while Danilo Petrucci closes the stage in 44th place, followed by Tonelli and Gritti. The other Italians defend themselves well, with Picco finishing the stage in 87th place and Piolini in 105th despite the collarbone “bolted” to a plate. '' It felt like driving for 8h clinging to a pneumatic hammer ... a real nightmare '' declares Lorenzo who even had to stop for the first time in 8 days to take a mild painkiller with the titanium plate that supports his collarbone '' on fire''.
The words of Oscar Polli
Our Tecnosport driver, Oscar Polli, sends us the following voice message.
“The dakar has been running on 3/4 throttle for now and now it's really starting to get to the point. I was unable to verify the conditions of the route which was the subject of criticisms but the greater regard for the safety of all the riders can certainly be shared. The race is still long and there will be surprises. Well the Italians, both Lucci and Petrucci, and the others who do not give up, even if they travel behind the lines. We in the Classic category travel among the last because of the time lost for the engine change, but the Dakar remains the most beautiful experience ever, especially when it comes to real bivouacs in nowhere, far from the cities. "
