Nasser Al-Attiyah captured his fourth Dakar Rally championship while Austin Jones became the youngest American to win an overall class title as the 2022 rally ended Friday with Stage 12.
Al-Attiyah finished 19th in the final stage but still nearly 28 minutes ahead of Sebastien Loeb to win a rally that the Qatar native controlled virtually from winning the opening stage.
“It was an incredible Dakar for us,” Al-Attiyah, who won for the first time in Saudi Arabia with his first Dakar Rally title since 2019, said on the Dakar website. “We’re pleased with the new T1+ regulations. There were three solid teams capable of winning. (Co-driver) Matthieu (Baumel) and I, the team, we all did a good job to win. We had finished second every time since we came to Saudi Arabia, now we’re really happy to achieve our goal.
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“Toyota Gazoo Racing did a fantastic job in the span of a year by building this new car. The whole race went without a hitch. We were on high alert, but now we know that we have an amazing car and we will do our best for the world championship. We opened up a gap on the first day and have since managed our lead. We’re really happy, and I reckon we’ll start thinking of the next Dakar in a week or ten days.”
🚗 Smiles and happy faces at the finish of the #Dakar2022! 😍 pic.twitter.com/jm5QobEqC0
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022
Jones, 25, overcame a 1-minute, 41-second deficit in the final stage to secure the SSV T4 overall victory with consistent results (and without a stage win).
After experiencing transmission problems in Stage 11, the Can-Am Factory South Racing driver finished third in the final stage, more than 4 minutes ahead of runner-up teammate Gerard Farres Guell, who suffered mechanical woes.
“I told you that would happen, that it was going to come down to the very end, and that’s exactly what it did,” Jones said. “We had a pretty clean day today. I drove as hard as I could, we got a couple of mistakes here and there, but overall, obviously, we got it done, and we made it. This is crazy. Shout out to my navigator Gustavo Gugelmin, who for 13 days straight has been great. The whole team, South Racing … it takes the whole team.
“I just knew what we had to do, we had a goal, and we went for it. It means everything. This is what we’ve trained (to do) for three years now. It’s the goal of any rally race. To get it done on the last day like this is a perfect ending to a really great story.”
Jones, who finished second in SSV in the 2021 Dakar, joined Ricky Brabec and Casey Currie on the list of American champions at Dakar.
In Stage 12 of the light prototype division, Seth Quintero extended a record with his 12th victory (and 10th consecutive) in the 2022 Dakar Rally. The American finished 15th overall in the T3 category because of a mechanical failure in Stage 2 that left him nearly 15 hours off the lead.
Stage 12 - ⚙️ LW Prototypes
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022
🥇 Seth Quintero
🥈 Sebastian Eriksson
🥉 Chaleco Lopez
All provisional results 👉 https://t.co/VWALrQ0INa#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/ciLGdZeEtE
In the bike division, 2020 champion Ricky Brabec finished second to Pablo Quintanilla in the final stage for a seventh overall ahead of fellow Americans Andrew Short and Mason Klein.
Other overall champions: Sam Sunderland (bike), Dmitry Sotnikov (truck), Francisco Lopez Contardo (light prototype) and Alexandre Giroud (quad).
The 2022 Dakar Rally ended with a somber note on Stage 12 as organizers announced that Quentin Lavalee died in an assistance vehicle accident with a local truck. A 20-year-old Frenchman, Lavalee was the chief mechanic for the PH Sport team in the Dakar Classic category.
You know it! @AlAttiyahN wins the Dakar once again!
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 14, 2022
😍 A look back at some of his greatest moments on the world's toughest race!#Dakar2022 pic.twitter.com/hUuwCOgH9g
Here are the stage winners and the final top three overall in each category after Stage 12 of the 2022 Dakar Rally:
Car
Stage 12 winner: Henk Lategan (ZAF), 1:35:19. Overall: 1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), Toyota Gazoo Racing, 38:33:03; 2. Sebastien Loeb (FRA), Bahrain Raid Extreme, 39:00:49; 3. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU), Overdrive Toyota, 39:34:16.
Bike
Stage 12 winner: Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), 1:40:00; Overall: 1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), GasGas Factory Racing, 38:47:30; 2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Monster Energy Honda, 38:50:57; 3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 38:54:17. Other U.S. notables: 7. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda, 39:33:34; 8. Andrew Short, Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team, 39:33:38; 9. Mason Klein, BAS Dakar KTM Racing Team, 39:36:37. Withdrew: Skyler Howes, Husqvarna Factory Racing.
Truck
Stage 12 winner: Dmitry Sotnikov (RAF), 1:42:41. Overall: 1. Dmitry Sotnikov (RAF), Kamaz-Master 41:37:34; 2. Eduard Nikolaev (RAF), Kamaz-Master, 41:47:32; 3. Anton Shibalov (RAF), Kamaz-Master, 42:48:45.
Light prototype
Stage 12 winner: Seth Quintero (USA), 1:48:46. Overall: 1. Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL), EKS — South Racing, 45:50:51; 2. Sebastian Eriksson (SWE), EKS — South Racing, 46:42:19; 3. Cristina Gutierrez Herrero (ESP), Red Bull Off-Road Team USA, 50:25:34. Notable: 15. Seth Quintero (USA), Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA, 60:29:12.
SSV
Stage 12 winner: Rokas Baciuska (LTU), 1:51:15. Overall: 1. Austin Jones (USA), Can-Am Factory South Racing, 47:22:50; 2. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP), Can-Am Factory South Racing, 47:25:27; 3. Rokas Baciuska (LTU), South Racing Can-Am, 47:38:08.
Quad
Stage 12 winner: Francisco Moreno (ARG), 2:14:13. Overall: 1. Alexandre Giroud (FRA), Yamaha Racing – SMX -Drag’on, 50:00:51; 2. Francisco Moreno (ARG), Drag’on Rally Team, 52:22:02; 3. Kamil Wisniewski (POL), Orlen Team, 52:28:16.
PAST RECAPS
DAY 1: Nasser Al-Attiyah takes overall lead as Audi drivers struggle
DAY 2: Sebastien Loeb wins; Austin Jones takes SSV lead
DAY 3: Led by Seth Quintero’s rebound victory, U.S. drivers and riders shine
DAY 4: Overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah wins stage after penalty
DAY 5: Petrucci becomes first MotoGP veteran to win bike stage at Dakar
DAY 6: Quintero continues impressive win streak in lightweight prototype
DAY 7: Loeb wins in overall; Jones retakes SSV lead
DAY 8: DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom wins first stage
DAY 9: Americans charging as Seth Quintero nears win record