Fine start for AirohRiders in the prologue stage that kicked off the 2022 Dakar Rally

Airohriders at the 44th edition of the world's toughest rally raid: the 2022 Dakar Rally.

In its third outing in Saudi Arabia, the Dakar continues to explore new landscapes with an even more substantial presence of sand in the 12 stages.

Pablo Quintanilla: “I'm very happy with the way we have started the year. It was a short prologue, but it was intense, fast, with dunes and some rocks, but it helped me to get my nerves sorted out and start to get into the swing of things little by little. My goal was to finish in the top four and I finished second, so I did it and I'll be able to choose a good starting position for tomorrow, which is an important stage with over 300 kilometres of special. It will be complicated. It will be important to start from the rear. We hope to have a good first week of rallying”.

Sam Sunderland: “The first proper day is done and it’s safe to say that we went straight in at the deep end! My navigation was good all day but when we got to kilometer 276 there was a waypoint which was really difficult to find. A few of us went around in circles but once I found it my only option was to push as hard as I could to make up for lost time. It’s been a tough first day but there’s such a long way to go, hopefully tomorrow will go a little more smoothly.”

2022 Dakar Rally | Stage #01A

P02 | Pablo Quintanilla (Honda)

P07 | Sam Sunderland (GasGas)

P21 | Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco)

P22 | Rui Gonçalves (Sherco)

P35 | Harith Noah (Sherco)

P40 | Paolo Lucci (Husqvarna)

credits: GasGas press center; Honda Racing Corporation; Sherco Racing

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