Seeking his first Dakar Rally victory, Sebastien Loeb won on Day 2 while an American won a stage for the second consecutive day in the 2022 event.
Loeb, a nine-time World Rally champion, covered the 339-kilometer segment around Al-Artawiyah, Saudi Arabia, in three hours and 25 minutes and moved within 10 minutes of overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, who finished second in Stage 2. Lucio Alvarez was third overall.
“It was a real tussle between Nasser and myself today,” Loeb said after his 15th Dakar stage win and first for the Bahrain Raid Extreme team. “He was opening the road and was really pushing for all 340km. By the end of the stage I had caught him.”
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Said Al-Attiyah: “We were able to go fast today and we always enjoy that. I think this will be an extremely fast Dakar all the way to the end. The performance of our T1+ is really fantastic.”
After a rough start, three-time Dakar Rally champion Carlos Sainz rebounded by finishing third in his Audi (5 minutes, 52 seconds behind Loeb). The Spaniard moved into the top 30 but still is more than two hours off Al-Attiyah’s overall lead after getting lost on the opening day.
In the SSV class, Austin Jones moved into the overall lead by 2 minutes, 28 seconds after a victory in Stage 2. Fellow American Seth Quintero suffered mechanical problems and fell from the top three in lightweight prototype after winning Stage 1.
🏁 Stage 2 ⚙️SSV
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 3, 2022
It’s Austin Jones who claims the 2nd stage win in the SSV category, finishing ahead of Luppi de Oliveira and Michal Goczal.#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/I3oZdCxU2S
In the bikes, Sam Sunderland moved into the overall lead as Joan Barreda Bort won on Day 2. American Skyler Howes trails by just under 10 minutes in fifth after a fourth place in Stage 2 (missing the podium by 22 seconds).
Here are the top three in each category after Day 2:
Car
Stage 2 winner: Sebastien Loeb (FRA), 3:25:00. Overall: 1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), Toyota Gazoo Racing, 6:59:21; 2. Loeb, Bahrain Raid Extreme, 7:08:37; 3. Lucio Alvarez (ARG), Overdrive Toyota, 7:40:14.
Bike
Stage 2 winner: Joan Barreda Bort (ESP), 3:31:20. Overall: 1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), GasGas Factory Racing, 8:31:29; 2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team, 8:34:20; 3. Daniel Sanders (AUS), GasGas Factory Racing, 8:34:58. Other U.S. notables: 5. Skyler Howes, Husqvarna Factory Racing, 8:41:28; 14. Mason Klein, BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team, 9:03:55; 16. Andrew Short, Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team, 9:07:28; 22. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda, 9:25:20.
Truck
Stage 2 winner: Andrey Karginov (RAF), 3:52:07. Overall: 1. Dmitry Sotnikov (RAF), Kamaz-Master 7:59:07; 2. Eduard Nikolaev (RAF), Kamaz-Master, 8:01:14; 3. Andrey Karginov (RAF), Kamaz-Master, 8:17:41.
Light prototype
Stage 2 winner: Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) 4:06:42. Overall: 1. Contardo, EKS -- South Racing, 8:30:15; 2. Sebastian Eriksson (SWE), EKS -- South Racing, 8:37:37; 3. Pavel Lebedev (RAF) MSK Rally Team, 8:54:03.
SSV
Stage 2 winner: Austin Jones (USA), 4:11:55. Overall: 1. Jones, Can-Am Factory South Racing, 8:51:19; 2. Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (BRA), South Racing Can-Am, 8:53:47; Michal Goczal (POL) 8:57:58.
Quad
Stage 2 winner: Manuel Andjuar (ARG) 4:27:51. Overall: 1. Laisvydas Kancius (LTU), Story Racing S.R.O., 10:51:36; 2. Pablo Copetti (USA), Del Amo Motorsports/Yamaha Rally Team, 10:58:08; 3. Alexandre Giroud (FRA), Yamaha Racing - SMX -Drag’on, 11:11:33.
🐪🐪🐪🐪🏍🐪🐪🐪🐪#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/ymHJHvNI5u
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 3, 2022