The sixth stage of the Dakar 2022 was marked by the neutralization of the race of the motorcycle and quad categories, with the organizers who decided to consider only the first 100.2 km valid for the purposes of the classification.
The reason is that the terrain of the over 400 km planned was at the limits of impracticable due to the rains of the previous days, but also because cars and trucks had already passed through in the fifth stage.
At the first refueling, the riders complained a lot about safety, so the organizers decided not to take any risks, inviting the bikes to return to the Riyadh bivouac. Argentinian Kevin Benavides, winner of the last edition of the Dakar, spoke about the decision and said: “I would have liked to have raced the whole stage, but not in those conditions”.
“I don’t understand why they let us pass where the cars went yesterday, but especially the trucks, because they knew they would destroy the bottom,” said the KTM driver. “It’s very dangerous for the bikes. We’re the ones who have to open the track, so having a stage like that was really crazy.”
“After less than 3 km, Ross Branch fell on a rock step covered by sand, I hope he is well. For safety reasons they cut the stage”, explained Benavides. “Five or six other riders also crashed in the first 100km, so that means potentially there would have been 20 crashes in a 400km stage.”
“I was careful, the bike moved a lot, I tried to ride parallel to the tracks and avoid the ruts. At kilometer 51 I made a mistake, because I started looking for a waypoint that I had already validated, but it took me a little to understand “, said the Argentine.
“At the refueling, at the 100th kilometer, they stopped the stage. It was very dangerous, with rocky areas that the cars had destroyed,” he said. “We go at very high average speeds and it was a lottery to stay on the bike, especially on the sand, because the cars bring out hard rocks and steps, which are very dangerous.”
Luciano Benavides also seems to agree with his brother’s opinion: “The truth is that it was the most dangerous 100 km I’ve ever traveled in my life. I don’t know why the organizers made the decision to stop on a route that the trucks and cars had already made yesterday “.
The Husqvarna driver added: “It was crazy, it was like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in the gun. It was obvious that if we continued, someone would get hurt.”
Shakedown additional information
# 77 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing: Luciano Benavides
Photo by: Husqvarna
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