Sunderland, Al-Attiyah Lock Up 2022 Dakar Rally Wins; Jones Scores First SSV Victory

The motorcycle and car class storylines may have played out completely differently in the 2022 Dakar Rally, but when the bivouac returned to Jeddah after Friday’s concluding stage, it was two past winners who locked up top honors. Nasser Al-Attiyah secured his fourth career overall victory on four wheels, and his second in a Toyota, after holding the top spot for the entire event. Sebastien Loeb, Al-Attiyah’s closest competition for most of the rally, will have to try again in 2023 to score his first career Dakar win after finishing 27:46 behind in second place.

03 Sunderland Sam (aus), GasGas Factory Racing, KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica, Moto, W2RC, action during the Stage 12 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Bisha and Jeddah, on January 14th 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Photo Gigi Soldano / DPPI

On the other hand, Sam Sunderland’s second career triumph on the bikes came after the Briton led most of the first week of the event, but had to break a trend on Friday of the overall lead changing every single day in the second week. Sunderland’s eighth place finish on stage, within 3:25 of stage winner Pablo Quintanilla, was still enough to keep him 3:27 ahead of Quintanilla in the final standings.

401 Jones Austin (usa), Gugelmin Gustavo (bra), Can-Am Factory South Racing, Can-Am XRS, T4 FIA SSV, Motul, W2RC, action during the Stage 7 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Riyadh and Al Dawadimi, on January 9th 2022 in Al Dawadimi, Saudi Arabia – Photo Gigi Soldano / DPPI

Instead, it was the SSV class that produced a dramatic lead change on the final day, with the pendulum swinging back in American driver Austin Jones’ favor on the 164-kilometer final stage. Jones’ third place finish on stage was more than four minutes better than incoming leader and teammate Gerard Farres, enough to eliminate his 1:41 deficit coming in and become just the second American racer to win the class. Lithuanian racer Rokas Baciuska won the final stage to leapfrog the Goczal brothers for the final podium spot.

305 Lopez Contardo Francisco (chl), Latrach Vinagre Juan Pablo (chl), EKS – South Racing, Can-Am XRS, T3 FIA, W2RC, action during the Stage 6 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Riyadh, on January 7th 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

Seth Quintero extended his single-year stage win record to 12 with another Light Prototype triumph, while Chaleco Lopez added his third Dakar overall win in the last four years. Dmitry Sotnikov, who led the rally from start to finish in the truck class, iced his second straight overall title with his fifth stage victory of the year, while French quad racer Alexandre Giroud scored the largest overall victory of the rally—and the first of his career—with a 2:21:11 gap over Friday stage winner Francisco Moreno.

500 Sotnikov Dmitry (rus), Akhmadeev Ruslan (rus), Akhmetzianov Ilgiz (rus), Kamaz-Master, Kamaz 43509, T5 FIA Camion, action during the Stage 4 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Al Qaysumah and Riyadh, on January 5th 2022 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Photo Frederic Le Floch / DPPI

2022 Dakar Rally Stage 12 winners were as follows:

• Bikes: Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), 1:40:00
• Cars: Henk Lategan (SAF), 1:35:19
• Trucks: Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS), 1:42:41
• Quads: Francisco Moreno (ARG), 2:14:13
• Light Prototype: Seth Quintero (USA), 1:48:46
• SSV: Rokas Baciuska (LTU), 1:51:15

Giroud Alexandre (fra), Yamaha Racing – SMX – Dragon, Yamaha YFZ 700, Quad, portrait during the Stage 12 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Bisha and Jeddah, on January 14th 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

2022 Dakar Rally overall winners are as follows:

• Bikes: Sam Sunderland (GBR), 38:47:30
• Cars: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), 38:33:03
• Trucks: Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS), 41:37:34
• Quads: Alexandre Giroud (FRA), 50:00:51
• Light Prototype: Chaleco Lopez (CHL), 45:50:51
• SSV: Austin Jones (USA), 47:22:50

Coverage of Stage 12 of the 2022 Dakar Rally will air on the Olympic Channel tonight at 8PM ET, with extended highlights also streaming on NBC Sports digital platforms.