Sam Sunderland, the Bold Brit has won the 2022 Dakar Rally. Not only has this amazing biker won one of the hardest endurance races let alone motorcycle races, this is actually his second Dakar Rally win! Sunderland won the race five years previously when it was held in South America. Phenomenally, not only was he the first British winner in South America (where it was held for ten years between 2009 and 2019), he is only the ninth person in the history of the Dakar Rally to have won it more than once!

6 Quick Facts on the Dakar Rally

• The Dakar Rally was founded in 1978 by Frenchman Thierry Sabine after he got lost in the Sahara desert on a ‘Coast to Coast’ race from Abidjan to Nice
• The Dakar Rally was originally called the Paris-Dakar Rally
• The Dakar Rally lasts between 10 and 15 days and covers up to 15,000km
• The Dakar Rally has been hosted across different continents since its inception
• The current Dakar Rally takes place across the Middle East
• It is one of the most dangerous races in the world

Sunderland’s win is not only one for the history books on a personal level – his win secured GASGAS their first ever Dakar Rally win. GASGAS are stalwarts of Trial, Enduro and Off-Road motorcycle racing. In the 44 years that the Dakar Rally has been run, only five other motorcycle manufacturers have been victorious; Yamaha, BMW, Honda, Cagiva and KTM.

So back to Sunderland – how did he fare across the race (which typically lasts between 10-15 days)? Sunderland entered the final 680km stage of the race as the rider to beat but still with everything to play for. The penultimate stage (SS11) saw him complete with a comfortable lead of 6 minutes 52 seconds over his nearest competitor – Chilean Pablo Quintanilla. Make no mistake though; the leader board chopped and changed as often as sand dunes in a storm. Sunderland had to stay on top of his game.

While Quintanilla did his best to unnerve his British rival with a fastest time on the final stage (SS12), Sunderland was able to finish that stage eighth fastest. With a time 3 minutes 25 seconds behind Quintanilla, the maths couldn’t lie; Sunderland had secured an overall victory with a margin of 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Amazingly, Sunderland kept a consistent accomplishment in the top four for each race stage and was lucky enough to avoid any serious trouble. An extraordinary thing about Sunderland’s win is that he only won one stage in the entire event (SS11). Nevertheless, it was enough time for him to bank that required wiggle room.

After his announced victory, Sam Sunderland had this to say: “Wow. What a feeling! That 10-minute period waiting at the end of the final stage to see if I’d won felt like a lifetime. But this feeling, knowing I’ve won a second Dakar, will stay in my memory forever. This win feels better than the first as this victory was anything but easy. The times were so close this year and there was no time to let off the gas, it was a really close race, right to the end.

Well done, Sam! What a way to start off 2022!

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