Overall Motorcycle Lead Changes Again at 2022 Dakar Rally; Cornejo, de Villiers Win Stage 9
Jan. 11, 2022
Off Road Racer Staff
Chile’s Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo won the battle, but Austrian rider Matthias Walkner is now winning the war after Tuesday’s Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally. Cornejo completed the Wadi Ad Dawasir loop stage in 2:29:30, with the previous two winners of the event in Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec behind him, but Walkner’s fourth place stage finish enabled him to get past former KTM teammate Sam Sunderland for the overall lead. Walkner now has a 2:12 advantage in the overall standings, slimmest in any class, with just three stages remaining.
[caption id="attachment_91498" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
#207 De Villiers Giniel (zaf), Murphy Dennis (zaf), Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+, Auto FIA T1/T2, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Gigi Soldano / DPPI[/caption]
In the car class, embattled Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers scored his first stage victory of the year after facing scrutiny throughout the event for multiple collisions with motorcycles. The latter resulted in a temporary five-hour penalty that was later rescinded after it was proven that de Villiers wasn’t at fault, and after pushing through both that and a barrage of negativity on social media, the South African edged out his teammate and countryman Henk Lategan for today’s stage victory by nine seconds. Nasser Al-Attiyah completed the podium sweep for the Hilux vehicles, and extended his overall lead by another minute on Sebastien Loeb.
As was the case yesterday, Seth Quintero and Marek Goczal took the respective Light Prototype and SSV class wins, while Chaleco Lopez and Austin Jones remain in control of those classes. Overall threats Eduard Nikolaev (trucks) and Pablo Copetti (quads) each knocked a handful of minutes out of the overall leads of Dmitry Sotnikov and Alexandre Giroud, respectively, but the latter duo each finished second on stage to limit the damage.
[caption id="attachment_91499" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
173 Copetti Pablo (usa), Del Amo Motorsports / Yamaha Rally Team, Yamaha Raptor, Quad, W2RC, Motul, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Frederic Le Floch / DPPI[/caption]
2022 Dakar Rally Stage 9 winners were as follows:
505 Nikolaev Eduard (rus), Iakovlev Evgenii (rus), Rybakov Vladimir (rus), Kamaz-Master, Kamaz 43509, T5 FIA Camion, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI[/caption]
2022 Dakar Rally overall leaders after Stage 9 are as follows:
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#207 De Villiers Giniel (zaf), Murphy Dennis (zaf), Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+, Auto FIA T1/T2, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Gigi Soldano / DPPI[/caption]
In the car class, embattled Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers scored his first stage victory of the year after facing scrutiny throughout the event for multiple collisions with motorcycles. The latter resulted in a temporary five-hour penalty that was later rescinded after it was proven that de Villiers wasn’t at fault, and after pushing through both that and a barrage of negativity on social media, the South African edged out his teammate and countryman Henk Lategan for today’s stage victory by nine seconds. Nasser Al-Attiyah completed the podium sweep for the Hilux vehicles, and extended his overall lead by another minute on Sebastien Loeb.
As was the case yesterday, Seth Quintero and Marek Goczal took the respective Light Prototype and SSV class wins, while Chaleco Lopez and Austin Jones remain in control of those classes. Overall threats Eduard Nikolaev (trucks) and Pablo Copetti (quads) each knocked a handful of minutes out of the overall leads of Dmitry Sotnikov and Alexandre Giroud, respectively, but the latter duo each finished second on stage to limit the damage.
[caption id="attachment_91499" align="alignnone" width="1024"] 173 Copetti Pablo (usa), Del Amo Motorsports / Yamaha Rally Team, Yamaha Raptor, Quad, W2RC, Motul, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Frederic Le Floch / DPPI[/caption]
2022 Dakar Rally Stage 9 winners were as follows:
- Bikes: Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (CHL), 2:29:30
- Cars: Giniel de Villiers (SAF), 2:23:08
- Trucks: Eduard Nikolaev (RUS), 2:38:43
- Quads: Pablo Copetti (USA), 3:18:58
- Light Prototype: Seth Quintero (USA), 2:50:04
- SSV: Marek Goczal (POL), 3:00:52
505 Nikolaev Eduard (rus), Iakovlev Evgenii (rus), Rybakov Vladimir (rus), Kamaz-Master, Kamaz 43509, T5 FIA Camion, action during the Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally 2022 around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11th 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI[/caption]
2022 Dakar Rally overall leaders after Stage 9 are as follows:
- Bikes: Matthias Walkner (AUT), 30:14:03
- Cars: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT), 30:10:04
- Trucks: Dmitry Sotnikov (RUS), 32:43:53
- Quads: Alexandre Giroud (FRA), 38:06:16
- Light Prototype: Chaleco Lopez (CHL), 35:47:12
- SSV: Austin Jones (USA), 37:14:28