Dakar 2022

[dimviii]

What happened to the official MAZ team, registered with three Trucks in the Dakar 2022, was sensational. The team was transporting the three 6440 RR models ready to be boarded on the ferry that was to take them to Saudi Arabia. But the sudden stop came from the organizer A.S.O! The vehicles of the Belarusian team had not received authorization to load the trucks, so after having crossed the EU borders on 26 November, the vehicles turned back and returned to Minsk. The team obviously lobbied for official explanations.
EU SANCTIONS IN BELARUS ... BUT THIS IS POLITICAL!

It seems somewhat absurd to have to talk about political issues to explain the exclusion of the Maz team, a sports team, to the Dakar 2022. Going to touch the political context of Belarus, the criticisms raised against the Lukashenko government are well known, which is considered in Europe as a dictator and protagonist of the 2020 electoral frauds denounced by the political opposition. Yes, it would in fact be the resulting EU sanctions against Belarus that began in 2020 that blocked A.S.O from the participation of Belarusians. Residents in the EU are obliged to terminate all economic-financial relations with entities in Belarus (of which MAZ is also part as it is partly controlled by the state). This would therefore be the official explanation, but it is hard to understand how a sports team can fit into this whole scenario of political war. The MAZ team was very disappointed. Among other things, it had already paid the registration fee for the Trucks (about 100,000 euros) and spent its budget to develop and test to participate in this Dakar. The decision of A.S.O, although officially supported, is incomprehensibly late, moreover after having already accepted the official registrations!

For the team at the moment there is no other solution than to abandon the race. The only way out would be to legally detach the team from the MAZ parent company, but this would be quite difficult given the financial support that the parent company makes for the sports team. A total chaos that for now remains unsolved and sees the Belarusian trucks relegated to gathering dust in their warehouses. We recall that MAZ won 2 podiums in the Dakar with the driver Siarhei Viazovich, of which a 2nd place in 2018 behind the winner Nikolaev.

https://www.rally.it/2021/12/dakar-2022-maz-esclusa-dalla-gara-per-motivi-politici

[TheFlyingTuga]

Well, the F1 calendar goes to where there's money. No matter if they don't care about human rights or if you are "allegedly" in a murder of a journalist. I condemn what is happening in Belarus, but kicking a sports team out? Well, they'll have to kick the KAMAZ as well no?

[Mirek]

Well, the F1 calendar goes to where there's money. No matter if they don't care about human rights or if you are "allegedly" in a murder of a journalist. I condemn what is happening in Belarus, but kicking a sports team out? Well, they'll have to kick the KAMAZ as well no?

You're looking at the situation from a wrong point of view and your comparisson is also wrong.

Dakar is a commercial event organized by ASO and not by the FIA. Therefore it is not kicking of a Belarussian team out of an international sporting event. It's preventing the Belarussian entity from doing business with the EU entity.

If there was an EU sanction applicable on KAMAZ, ASO would be obliged not to make business with them either. There is no such sanction in place therefore the comparisson is irrelevant.

It's sad for MAZ but in my point of view the entire responsibility for this mess goes to the aggressive actions of the Belarussian state and Lukashenko against EU (Poland) and it's absolutely right when the EU answers the harsh actions with a harsh reaction.

EDIT: Few years back EU sanction stroke Kamaz team too. They had to abandon the already developed "long nose" trucks using Mercedes cabins. Kamaz was forced to use the "old" trucks in the race instead.

[TheFlyingTuga]

Oh, okay.

I didn't understand the situation correctly and I thought that it was just the ASO taking a stand just because.

Thank you for your explanation Mirek

[dimviii]

Dakar 2022 – Kris Meeke remplace Giniel de Villiers

Giniel de Villiers will not be at the start of the next Dakar. Diagnosed positive for the coronavirus, the winner of the 2009 edition is asked to stay at home. Too bad: the South African will not be able to improve on this impressive statistic: in 18 consecutive participations in the famous rally-raid, he had not recorded the slightest retirement.

This package, on the other hand, is a godsend for Kris Meeke who had discovered the event last January at the wheel of a Zypher T3 Buggy prepared by PH Sport. The Northern Irishman had shone several times before experiencing a lot of mechanical problems.

Conquered by the Dakar, Meeke could not find a steering wheel for this edition. And here he is going to drive an official Toyota Hilux, the car which is one of the favorite vehicles of the Dakar 2022. It is up to him to demonstrate that soon to be 42 years old, after having won 5 rounds in the WRC, he can begin a successful conversion to rallying. -raid.

https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/autres-courses/rallye-raid/dakar/dakar-2022-kris-meeke-remplace-giniel-de-villiers.html

[dimviii]

Should de Villiers return another positive test result, it is believed that former Toyota World Rally Championship driver Kris Meeke could be in the frame to take his place in the team.

“Kris is a friend of the team, and should there be any unexpected results with Giniel, he may be able to step up at short notice. As of now, the plan is for Giniel to drive.”
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/de-villiers-dakar-in-doubt-after-covid-19-positive/

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FHt2WnkX0AAtJa7?format=png&name=small

[Jarek Z]

New livery on Jakub Przygonski's Mini Buggy:

https://cdn-4.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0JBnkvp0/s8/kuba-przygonski-timo-gottschal-1.jpg

[Mirek]

I fail to understand why to make your desert race car black. Of couse it looks badass but in reasonable terms it's bad for basically everything.

[dimviii]

I fail to understand why to make your desert race car black. Of couse it looks badass but in reasonable terms it's bad for basically everything.

when i saw the photos i thought the same.

[dimviii]

Cross-Country Rally Media
@CCRallyMedia
· 3h
RIP Karel Loprais

One of the greatest personalities of Czechoslovak, Czech motorsports and Dakar legend left today,but above all a great and beloved person. Karel Loprais is no longer with us.

We want to send our condolences to all his family and friends.

[wwbroe]

Al-Attiyah wins prologue

[Mirek]

Cross-Country Rally Media
@CCRallyMedia
· 3h
RIP Karel Loprais

One of the greatest personalities of Czechoslovak, Czech motorsports and Dakar legend left today,but above all a great and beloved person. Karel Loprais is no longer with us.

We want to send our condolences to all his family and friends.

A true legend. Always quiet and calm guy who had an incredible career.

6x Dakar winner
4x second
1x third

1x second in Paris - Beijing

Till today a holder of the best overall result with a truck (6th overall).

https://dakar.loprais.cz/media/fullhd/36/b-0-0-0-00-images-tym-karelloprais-karelloprais6-jpg.jpeg

[dimviii]

Al-Attiyah wins prologue

and choosed 10th start position

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FICG63UX0AEftQc?format=jpg&name=large

[dimviii]

Havoc at 1st stage.
Audi lost all their hopes for a good result
Peterhansel lost rear axle,Sainz and Ekstrom must be lost.
Nasser faster,Loeb second but 12 minutes slower.

[EstWRC]

very good pace from Loeb from WP6 to the finish

[dimviii]

Peterhansel

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIGKQ-UWUAAKIVu?format=jpg&name=medium

[EstWRC]

Sainz adventures today, has lost 2 hours

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIGLT6sWQAcNF97?format=jpg&name=900x900

[dimviii]

at last check point is 2 hours 6 minutes from Nasser.
Pitty that at least 2 good drivers are out of win at first stage.

[focus206]

With Sainz and Peterhansel in trouble, Loeb has a good chance now, but Nasser is still by far the favourite. I don't know how much to trust that Prodrive buggy...
It just began, but hopefully someone will be able to match Nasser's speed to make it exciting or all it would be left to see is if he ever runs into trouble.

[dimviii]

The nine-time World Rally Champion could at least content himself with the fact that he remains just about in touch despite suffering a pair of punctures early on.

“It really wasn’t simple, we messed up and started with two punctures before the neutralisation. There was no room for error in the second part,” Loeb said.

“The first part of the day dented our confidence, but everything turned out fine.”

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/al-attiyah-dominates-dakar-opener-as-peterhansel-hits-trouble/

[focus206]

In the truck category, Aleš Loprais with his Tatra is the only one who was able to keep behind drivers from the Kamaz army. Rooting for him for a good results, I saw at the starting cerimony that Aleš had a picture of his uncle Karel on his truck as tribute.

[dimviii]

DAKAR RALLY
@dakar
·
4h
Police cars revolving light No Marathon Bivouac tomorrow Police cars revolving light

The Special Section however will be the same and the vehicles will spend the night at the Al Qaisumah bivouac with their assistance.
This is why the Marathon Stage wasn't possible in Al Artawiyah... Eyes

https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1477668505864454147

[focus206]

I don't understand this thing: Peterhansel didn't complete the stage according to the tracking... I suppose the car was transported back to the bivouac. So why he's ranked as +23h 30mins, rather than DNF? Is there some sort of Dakar Superrally I'm not aware of?
Or maybe they just need to update the rankings...

[lmmjvss]

Daammn... the 3 Audis are already "out"!
I dont know bout you guys but I think I basically watched clips of Audi testing that car on a road course at their factory. I imagine they spent lots of $ and tested these cars on some desert track (...) but I was expecting more from them. Maybe next year, eh

[lmmjvss]

Stage 1B Highlights:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x86qklf

RedbullTV is also covering it daily, as we all know

[the sniper]

Daammn... the 3 Audis are already "out"!
I dont know bout you guys but I think I basically watched clips of Audi testing that car on a road course at their factory. I imagine they spent lots of $ and tested these cars on some desert track (...) but I was expecting more from them. Maybe next year, eh

Maybe that explains all the "This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt." caveat Tweets, just reminding people this isn't representative of the standard of their production models! :D

Still, the original Audi Quattro competition program didn't start out too reliably either, I believe.

[Mirek]

Daammn... the 3 Audis are already "out"!
I dont know bout you guys but I think I basically watched clips of Audi testing that car on a road course at their factory. I imagine they spent lots of $ and tested these cars on some desert track (...) but I was expecting more from them. Maybe next year, eh

All three continue the race. It's Dakar, a lot can and will happen in the next two weeks.

[wwbroe]

The 9 time champ with besttime in Dakar today

[focus206]

"Stéphane Peterhansel, who suffered mechanical problems yesterday, was forced to wait for his assistance team participating in the T5 category to help him repair and resume the special. Assistance between FIA competitors is authorised by the rules and trucks are participating in the Dakar with this aim in mind. Unfortunately, Peter was over the time limit when he reached a point on the route that the competitors had to pass in no more than 7 hours and 17 minutes after they began the special. Having exceeded this deadline by a quarter of an hour, as a result he received a fixed stage penalty of ten hours. In addition to this, he also received six hours of penalties corresponding to the way points missed at the end of the special which he did not complete. As if this was not enough, he was also ascribed the maximum time permitted to complete the special, namely ten hours and fifty minutes. This time replaces the time he would have posted had he managed to complete the special. In total, Peterhansel was credited with a time of 10 hours and fifty minutes for special 1B, as well as the fixed stage penalty and the missed way point penalties, both totalling 16 hours. In total, the time retained for the man from Vesoul for stage 1B was 26 hours and 50 minutes. By dint of the rules, he remains in the race and, if he is able to claw back the gargantuan time loss suffered, could theoretically still win the race. In any event, if he makes it back to Jeddah, the Audi with race number 200 will indeed feature in the final classification. However, at present he lags behind Nasser Al-Attiyah by a massive 23 hours and 35 minutes."

from dakar.com - an answer to my own question from yesterday. Peterhansel still in the race, almost 24 hours behind Al Attiyah.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1478074776388313096

[focus206]

After Stage 2:
1 Nasser Al Attiyah
2 Sebastien Loeb + 09' 16''
3 Lucio Alvarez + 40' 53''

They seem like huge gaps but in Dakar it's not that much... Al Attiyah had a puncture towards the end of today's stage and slowed down. Loeb said he pushed for the whole stage like if he was driving a WRC rally.

[Mirek]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1478074776388313096

That should result in an immediate disqualiffication of De Villiers.

[MartijnS]

Only 5 minute penalty..

[dimviii]

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/five-minute-penalty-for-de-villiers-after-toyota-hits-rider/


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FINLoupX0AMHmm6?format=jpg&name=large

[lmmjvss]

Stage 2 Highlights
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x86rbyx

[lmmjvss]

All three continue the race. It's Dakar, a lot can and will happen in the next two weeks.

Yeah, I wrote "Out".
Sainz went really well today, actually. P3?
But the victory is probably off the table

[focus206]

5 minutes penalty is a joke for Dakar. Like giving a 1 second penalty in a WRC rally.

[EstWRC]

Puncture already at first waypoint for Loeb, losing 6 minutes to Nasser

[dimviii]

Ivan Fernandez
@fernischumi
·
4m
The Red Bull Off-Road armada begins to unravel. In addition to the seven hours lost by Guillaume De Mevius in stage 1B and Seth Quintero's differential problem yesterday, Andreas Mikkelsen abandoning the #Dakar due to damage to the safety cage of his OT3

[EstWRC]

it seems Loeb has also second puncture? has lost another 7 minutes and is 15 minutes down from leader Lategan at this moment and 12 minutes from Nasser

[MartijnS]

De Villiers apparently hit another bike on the 2nd stage. Driver fine, bike damaged so much that his Dakar is over.

[dimviii]

Dakar leader Al-Attiyah handed suspended DSQ

Toyota was fined €5000 for a breach as its data logger wasn't connected

https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/dakar-leader-al-attiyah-handed-suspended-dsq/

[dimviii]

what a photo

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIPgDjaWQAAJLft?format=jpg&name=large

[dimviii]

it seems Loeb has also second puncture? has lost another 7 minutes and is 15 minutes down from leader Lategan at this moment and 12 minutes from Nasser

12:15 Car: Loeb already trails by 15’

After two punctures, Sébastien Loeb has already lost more than a quarter of an hour after 126 km. Henk Lategan still leads, seven seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz and a little more than a minute in front of Stéphane Peterhansel.

[EstWRC]

it seems something else happened too, in the end 33 minutes lostt, what a shame

[dupanton]

it seems something else happened too, in the end 33 minutes lostt, what a shame

Transmission problems

[dimviii]

Transmission problems

14:05 Car: Two-wheel drive for Loeb

At the finishing line for the day’s special, Sébastien Loeb arrived more than 33’ behind stage winner Carlos Sainz. The nine times winner of the WRC and his co-pilot Fabian Lurquin broke their longitudinal transmission after 10 minutes of racing. They managed to salvage their day by making it to the finishing line on two-wheel drive!

[focus206]

Feels like reading a Dakar script for Loeb, unfortunately...

[dimviii]

We woke up this morning with the confirmation that Nasser Al-Attiyah received a financial penalty of 5,000 euros (to be paid in less than 48 hours) after verifying that the 'data logger' or the system in charge of collecting data in his Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1 + was not connected during stage two of the 2022 Dakar Rally, disputed in this case and exceptionally between Ha'il-Al Qaisumah after the floods that forced to change the route and suppress the Marathon stage.

In this case, in addition to this sanction for not complying with article 13.1.2 of the FIA ​​Sporting Regulations, a second penalty was also applied pending disqualification of the event, so if a similar event was repeated in what The remainder of Dakar 2022, this would mean the immediate expulsion of the current leader of the general classification in cars.

This last point precisely reveals the importance that ASO and FIA give to the so-called “Black Boxes” that are in charge of collecting many parameters of the car when it is in competition, among other things, of registering the engine revolutions, turbo pressure, some data that is vital when it comes to ensuring that all frames comply with technical regulations, even more important when facing vehicles as different as Toyota's or Prodrive's T1 +, versus the electric Audi RS Q e-tron.

nasser-al-attiyah-dakar-2022-cars-aso-defense-1

The defense of Toyota GAZOO Racing is based on the fact that it was a human error, in this case the carelessness of a mechanic who forgot to connect said element for the second stage after, on the first day, or stage 1B, this it will be correctly activated. Toyota alleges that it is a safety procedure, since they disconnect them during the night and probably also when they are preparing to refuel the vehicle at the bivouac.

This has led the FIA ​​to argue its less severe decision because "The exceptional circumstances present in this case, insofar as the Dakar Rally is made up of 12 days of competition and the infraction was discovered in the second, the car being in compliance in the first one. A disqualification from the competition would not be proportionate, especially since the competitor has confirmed that he will solve the problem and the car will be in compliance with the regulations for the next 10 days of competition. "
Lategan's Toyota has irregularities:

rally-dakar-2022-toyota-disqualification-1

It might seem that, although it was a very condescending decision, none of the rivals would see this possible controversy with too much bad eyes ... until this afternoon. The decision number 13 of the stewards announces that Henk Lategan, another of the official drivers of Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa has been penalized with 5 minutes in stage 2 after discovering that his Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1 +, a twin unit to the employee by De Villiers or Nasser Al-Attiyah, it was not in compliance with the regulations.

According to the FIA ​​Technical Delegate, the Lategan unit would have exceeded the maximum allowable turbo pressure, with a number of overpressures above the tolerance of 30mBars / s up to six times, exceeding the maximum of five from of which begins to mark the LED system used by Magnetti Marelli in its dataloggers. Jean-Marc Fortin, representative of the team, pointed out that this “small overpressure (below 100mbar is considered like this) was due to when the pilots performed a jump by pressing the accelerator fully ”, which leads to the turbo turbine turning faster and therefore this excess is produced without obtaining any extra performance since the vehicle is with the wheels in the air.

In principle, it is not therefore a serious violation, but added to what happened with Nasser Al-Attiyah, it does not stop fueling the controversy that has been served since in stage 1B, a "not very precise" roadbook at kilometer 257 , 6 according to David Castera turned the race upside down and claimed a good handful of minutes for almost 80% of the registered teams.

https://www.diariomotor.com/competicion/noticia/dakar-2022-descalificacion-nasser-al-attiyah/

[dimviii]

bravo to Nani Roma

It is undoubtedly one of the images from this 2022 Dakar Rally. After what happened recently between Giniel de Villiers and the Chilean motorcycle rider, César Zuramán (a situation that had an encore just hours later), the other side Of the coin we have found it in the figure of Nani Roma when he approached the participant Original by Motul (formerly known as Malle Moto), Tiziano Interno, to worry about his condition.

The Catalan, along with Álex Haro, explained to the journalist Damià Aguilar what happened, pointing out that Tiziano had fallen behind a dune and that he had not had time to activate the Sentinel that would alert him to his presence precisely at that dangerous point. The two-time Dakar winner was unaware of this situation and when overcoming the dune he ran over the Italian's motorcycle, which fortunately was not right next to his saddle at that time.

Nani himself has declared that it was undoubtedly a "lucky day" for Tiziano and for them, since if he were closer to the motorcycle that had just fallen, he could have had significant physical injuries in the face of a collision with the BRX Hunter T1 + that is using this edition that of Folgueroles.

In addition to breathing relief, the Prodrive and Bahrain Raid Xtreme rider has been quick to take an interest in the bivouac because of the situation of his motorcycle, also knowing that in this category the resources are very limited and they hardly have the parts that they themselves They carry in a chest that ASO moves to each assistance at the end of each stage so that participants in the Origina by Motul category can work on the motorcycles.

Roma himself has approached KTM, a manufacturer with whom he has a long relationship, in addition to the good harmony that Nani has with those responsible for the team, Jordi Viladoms and Marc Coma, to ask them for the parts with which Tiziano can replace the damaged on your motorcycle by the accident. Dakar spirit.

https://www.diariomotor.com/competicion/noticia/rally-dakar-2022-caballero-nani-roma/

[bwallace]

might some one know were i can find steward decidion page were they giving penalty for dakar competetors ?

[lmmjvss]

Stage 3 Highlights
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x86tifq

Nice to see Audi winning their first stage, eh!
I hate to think that Sainz didnt had a good extreme-e season cuz he is a beast!

[focus206]

Coronel and Zala
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ByMyNFc-0

[bwallace]

vanagas crash https://fb.watch/al4MIMDxOr/

[dimviii]

vanagas crash https://fb.watch/al4MIMDxOr/
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIVKhg2XIAMBa5D?format=jpg&name=medium
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIVKjHeWUAU-pjg?format=jpg&name=large

[wwbroe]

Very close battle today for stage victory, Al Rajhi taking it but only with 14" to Al Attiyah and 39" to Loeb. Lategan had problem and waiting for truck.

[focus206]

Very close battle today for stage victory, Al Rajhi taking it but only with 14" to Al Attiyah and 39" to Loeb. Lategan had problem and waiting for truck.

2 minutes penalty to Al Rajhi for speeding. Stage victory goes to Al Attiyah, Loeb 2nd at 25'' and Sainz 3rd at 52''.

Overall standings:
1 Nasser Al Attiyah
2 Sebastian Loeb +38' 05''
3 Yazeed Al Rajhi +49' 15''
4 Giniel De Villiers +49' 17''
5 Lucio Alvarez +53' 58''

4 of the top 5 drive Toyota Hilux. From 6th down, they have more than 1 hour gap from Al Attiyah. Meanwhile Nani Roma, in another BRX Hunter, lost 1h 30' due to technical troubles.

[dimviii]

how much respect for these guys!!!

Yeah, it worked out not too bad, the plan. I caught the guys earlier than I thought. It was really tricky navigation at the start, at the refuelling. After this, I was in the pack and we tried to open the stage as fast as we could so we didn't lose too much time to the other guys. We found one really tricky spot and I went on the right way, and so did Skyler. We opened a lot, for a fair bit we didn't know where the other guys went. While I was opening with Skyler I landed off a dune jump on a mound. That's why my face is like this. I face-planted the navigation screen on the front. It was a really rough day. I hit my head pretty hard, but I was really lucky I didn't crash. The airbag went off and it was good to just regroup and get to the next refuel, finish strong and try not to lose too much time today because it was the biggest stage of the race. It was good fun.

https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/sanders-etape4/124175/0:5,800:527-800-0-70/33198

https://www.dakar.com/en/news/2022/stage-4/bike/daniel-sanders-i-was-really-lucky-i-didnt-crash/175299

[dimviii]

Ivan Fernandez
@fernischumi

It's over. 5 Hour penalty to Giniel De Villiers for his incident with a motorcyclist on stage 2 #Dakar


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIXAqpkXsAIwytp?format=jpg&name=large

[focus206]

After De Villiers' penalty, top 5 looks like this:

1 Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Hilux)
2 Sebastien Loeb (BRX Hunter buggy) +38' 05''
3 Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota Hilux) +49' 15''
4 Lucio Alvarez (Toyota Hilux) +53' 58''
5 Vladimir Vasilyev (BMW X5) +1h 03' 52''

[focus206]

Stage win by Lategan, in front of Loeb (who gains a couple of minutes on Al Attiyah) and Alvarez. Yet another suspension problem for Audi, this time Sainz who loses 1h+

Top 5:
1 Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Hilux)
2 Sebastien Loeb (BRX Hunter buggy) +35' 10''
3 Lucio Alvarez (Toyota Hilux) +51' 15''
4 Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota Hilux) +1h 06' 23''
5 Vladimir Vasilyev (BMW X5) +1h 07' 52''

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/Motor_Esport/status/1479107515715448835

https://twitter.com/dakar/status/1479092228941402113

[Mirek]

According to Czech public TV statistics their daily Dakar coverage is being watched by more than 10% of all Czech population every day. That says about the popularity of Dakar here.

[lmmjvss]

I was thinking about that. Im not into Cross Country racing but I always keep an eye to see if Loeb is finally winning his first Dakar. But for this year I think the new promoter did a good job. Im following all the daily highlights and its been fun! Im following Loeb and other drivers that I like... Chicherit, Seb Eriksson, Petrucci, Prokop. But the thing Im enjoying the most is to watch the different Cars on the class. Its cool to see different machines. I feel that lots of series are using spec cars right now... Or tight regulations that all cars look the same...But here in Dakar they are all different! Those old Peugeots, the ProDrive car, those Toyota "Utes".... Awesome. Im into "new things" in motorsport so Im also following because of the new Audi! I remember when Nissan entered LeMans with a FWD car. I watched that year because of how different the top cars were. Hybrid, 2wd, 4wd, etc... I love this aspect of motorsport. The "freedom" that sometimes we get somewhere.
Not planning to watch the full championship tho. But lets see. The highlights have been fun. Maybe theres new cars for the season. Who knows

[EstWRC]

Navigation error from Loeb and loosing already 25 minutes to Nasser

[wwbroe]

Terranova won today's stage, Loeb loosing some twenty minutes, 15 to Al Attiyah who stays in the lead easily. Loeb falling back to third overall, only 6 sec behind Al Rajhi.

[focus206]

Nasser can now cruise to victory. Of course, this being Dakar, troubles are always around the corner, but only a major setback can take the win away from him.

[dimviii]

De Villiers’ five-hour Dakar penalty rescinded

The Toyota driver had been given a five-hour penalty for a second collision with a bike rider in as many days
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/de-villiers-five-hour-dakar-penalty-rescinded/

[dimviii]

Sainz loosing a wheel at high speed

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1479529656416149514

[NaBUru38]

The French government is considering cancelling the race after the bomb.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220107-france-weighs-cancelling-dakar-rally-after-suspected-terror-attack

[Mirek]

The French government is considering cancelling the race after the bomb.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220107-france-weighs-cancelling-dakar-rally-after-suspected-terror-attack

By what means? The French government is not organizing the event. A genuine question.

Anyway at this point it would be completely idiotic.

[PLuto]

It is only political promo, nothing else...

[EstWRC]

Loeb going great today. Almost 7 minutes faster than Nasser with still 3 waypoints to go

[wwbroe]

Loeb wins the stage with 5'26" to Al-Attiyah and takes back second place overall.

[focus206]

I'm not wishing troubles to Nasser... but I wish we could have a tight battle for the lead :D

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/fernischumi/status/1480211958020329477

[Mirek]

Van den Heuvel repeated his last year's stunt as I can see...

Also Van Kasteren with Iveco rolled today but he was able to continue after he was helped back on the wheels. Anyway it means that Loprais got in front of him to the fourth overall.

[EstWRC]

Nasser losing again a lot of time to Loeb today, rumors that he is having 2wd only

[focus206]

I don't think Nasser had 2WD only. If he did, then he did amazing: 10 minutes behind Ekstrom who won the stage and 7 minutes behind Loeb.
I think he's controlling, now the gap is 37' 58'', still very comfortable.

[dimviii]

I don't think Nasser had 2WD only. If he did, then he did amazing: 10 minutes behind Ekstrom who won the stage and 7 minutes behind Loeb.
I think he's controlling, now the gap is 37' 58'', still very comfortable.

“For 350 km we one puncture and then we only had front-wheel drive because we broke the rear. I was really scared all the way. On the last part I said, ‘I don’t care, on the last fifty kilometres I will try to push a little bit’. But it was not easy with just the front-wheel drive. I’m really lucky to be here and we only lost seven minutes to Seb. For the speed, we needed to go slow, but there was a small part broken inside and a lot of noise. That’s what we had to manage all the way, but we are lucky to be here. Of course I was scared, because we have done a very good job from the beginning and now if we start to have problems… I think we need to sit down with the team a little bit to see why it happened. It’s a new rear differential, we only added it yesterday. I think there was something wrong with the fitting, but we’ll see now what the mechanic will say. The Dakar is never finished, you know? We’ll try to respect the Dakar. The Dakar is the Dakar”.

[focus206]

“For 350 km we one puncture and then we only had front-wheel drive because we broke the rear. I was really scared all the way. On the last part I said, ‘I don’t care, on the last fifty kilometres I will try to push a little bit’. But it was not easy with just the front-wheel drive. I’m really lucky to be here and we only lost seven minutes to Seb. For the speed, we needed to go slow, but there was a small part broken inside and a lot of noise. That’s what we had to manage all the way, but we are lucky to be here. Of course I was scared, because we have done a very good job from the beginning and now if we start to have problems… I think we need to sit down with the team a little bit to see why it happened. It’s a new rear differential, we only added it yesterday. I think there was something wrong with the fitting, but we’ll see now what the mechanic will say. The Dakar is never finished, you know? We’ll try to respect the Dakar. The Dakar is the Dakar”.

Well done to Nasser, then. Really limited the damage.

[dimviii]

Loeb escapes time penalty as BRX handed €10,000 fine

The nine-time WRC champion lost his spare wheel on stage eight of the 2022 Dakar Rally
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/loeb-escapes-time-penalty-as-brx-handed-e10000-fine/

[Mirek]

Loeb escapes time penalty as BRX handed €10,000 fine

The nine-time WRC champion lost his spare wheel on stage eight of the 2022 Dakar Rally
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/loeb-escapes-time-penalty-as-brx-handed-e10000-fine/

It's same shit like in the WRC.

If some privateer from the bottom fifty run over a motorbike he would be disqualiffied.
If some privateer from the bottom fifty disconnected the datalogger he would be disqualified.
If some privateer from the bottom fifty lost a spare wheel on stage he would get a time penalty.

[focus206]

In today's stage, Nasser gains 1 minute on Loeb. Nothing changes really, Loeb was never going to catch him on speed alone with that big gap.

[dimviii]

Al-Attiyah’s Dakar Rally lead cut after five-minute penalty

Toyota driver found to have not fitted seatbelts properly after early puncture stop on Monday's eighth stage
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/al-attiyahs-dakar-rally-lead-cut-after-five-minute-penalty/

[focus206]

Al-Attiyah’s Dakar Rally lead cut after five-minute penalty

Toyota driver found to have not fitted seatbelts properly after early puncture stop on Monday's eighth stage
https://dirtfish.com/off-road/dakar/al-attiyahs-dakar-rally-lead-cut-after-five-minute-penalty/

Second infringement for Nasser... only 5 minutes penalty after 2 pretty serious offences. Not as serious as running over bikes and not stopping, but still.

[dimviii]

Second infringement for Nasser... only 5 minutes penalty after 2 pretty serious offences. Not as serious as running over bikes and not stopping, but still.

if you go to gallery>video>day8 you can watch the video comparison when Loeb and Nasser change the tyre.
https://www.dakar.com/en/stage-8/bike/gallery/video

[focus206]

Loeb gains a couple of minutes on Al Attiyah, the gap is 32' 40'' with 2 stages to go...

[Mirek]

Terrible day for our colors today. Loprais retired from 4th place (1st non-Kamaz) with broken power steering in a jump over a dune in which Huzink broke his truck's chassis in two and one another CanAm rolled. It's not sure if he'll be able to continue tomorrow or not but for sure his chances on any good result are lost. Prokop lost gearbox oil through a broken sealing which was difficult to reach moreover on a palce without phone signal so without a chance to consult his team. They managed to repair it but only after five hours and as a result they need to navigate the desert in the night. He is also ill.

[wwbroe]

Sainz wins today's stage in front of Loeb, who takes 4 mins out of Al Attiyah's lead. Nasser stays comfortably in the lead tough.

[dimviii]

16:02 Car: 5-minute penalty for Loeb

Sébastien Loeb has just received a 5-minute penalty for breaking the speed limit in a restricted speed zone on the day’s special. The man from Alsace therefore drops down to eighth place in the classification for the day’s special. It is a pity for the BRX crew who had just managed to claw back a little more than 4 minutes on Nasser Al-Attiyah in the general rankings.

[focus206]

Only a disaster breakdown from Nasser in the last stage can give the victory to Seb.

[wwbroe]

Lategan wins today's stage in front of Peterhansel, Baragwanath and Loeb. Nasser loosing again some time to Seb, but taking a well deserved victory in Dakar 2022.

[focus206]

Well done to Nasser and everyone who reached the finish line.

[dimviii]

hahahahaha

https://twitter.com/Motor_Esport/status/1482027210802438150

[dimviii]

wish all the best for Nani.
https://spainsnews.com/nani-roma-operated-on-for-bladder-cancer/