Sunderland wins Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge | Price fourth

2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – (Final) Stage Five

GasGas Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland has followed up his Dakar win in January with the overall Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory, just ahead of the Hondas of Ricky Brabec and Pablo Quintanilla, while Toby Price was the top KTM in fourth, 8m17s off the leader.

In the overall W2RC standings, Sunderland increases his lead (63 points) over Quintanilla (46 points). Matthias Walkner (35 points) sits third, the reigning World Champion just retains his place on the W2RC provisional podium ahead of Ricky Brabec (34 points), with Toby Price fifth on 25-points.

In the Manufacturers’ World Championship standings, the Monster Energy Honda team maintains its advantage thanks to its one-two finish on the podium. Honda now has 83 points against 63 points for GasGas. Just behind, KTM remain in touch with 60 points thanks to fourth and fifth place on the ADDC for Price and Walkner. Hero Motosports took advantage of the performances of Rodrigues and Caimi to take fourth place from Sherco.

It was close one at the ADDC this year – Sam went into the final 371km stage with a narrow 23-second lead over the second-placed rider. Not backing down, the 2022 Dakar winner came out fighting to deliver what is arguably his most impressive stage result of the event. By kilometer 83, Sam had moved into the stage lead on time and from there he didn’t look back. Steadily increasing his lead, he went on to secure the overall race win.

Clocking in at the finish of today’s stage 34 seconds faster than anyone else, Sam claimed the overall race victory by over three minutes, after close to 17 hours of racing.

Sam Sunderland – P1 / P1 Overall

“It feels so cool to get the win! Abu Dhabi is always a tough race with the strategy and that was even more a factor this year as everyone was right on the pace. If you started a stage further back you didn’t seem to catch up so much time even though you were pushing like hell, so it was definitely a challenge this year. It was a tough race physically as well, partly because of the pace, but because of the heat too, as well as it being so close to Dakar. It feels great to get another win and extend my lead in the championship. It also feels good to be able to reward the team like this because they have all worked so hard all week, and it’s results like this that makes it all worth it. The plan now is to keep the ball rolling and carry this momentum into the third round.”

By the end of the stage, Brabec had managed to make up time, posting second on the day while taking second place in the overall rankings too.

Ricky Brabec – P2 / P2 Overall

“The final stage was great. The times were very close. We knew that it was going to be tough today to make up enough time in the overall standings. I did what I could to get onto the podium. I got ahead of my team-mate Pablo who also had a good push today. Overall it was a good rally. The team and the riders did a good job. The rally was tight all week with times going back and forth. Unfortunately, Sam was the one who stopped longer in the prologue and had the advantage from day one and today on day five. The rally is coming to those who stop the longest in the prologue. We knew it would be hard to beat Sam – he used to live out here. We did our best for the team and we’re looking forward to the next one. Thanks to all the team.”

Monster Energy Honda Team team-mate Pablo Quintanilla wrapped up the stage in fifth, one minute behind Brabec, and third overall.

Pablo Quintanilla – P5 / P3 Overall

“We have finished the rally and I am very happy to be on the podium. Today was a difficult last stage for me. I tried to push as hard as I could and towards the middle of the special I caught the riders in front, so I had to open the track until the end. I lost a few minutes at the finish, but that was to be expected. I’m very happy with the result. It was a tough race, with little time to rest and prepare for the race after the Dakar, so now we are back on our schedule. I wish to thank the team for the great work done during all this week and now we can go back home to prepare for the next challenge.”

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Matthias Walkner was the 13th rider to enter today’s special, and making the best use of his skill and start position, the reigning world champion was able to immediately make up time on the riders ahead. Second quickest to the first timed checkpoint, Walkner maintained his strong pace throughout the stage to ultimately complete the stage as third fastest. The result placed Matthias fifth overall, eight and a half minutes down on the rally winner.

Matthias Walkner – P3 / P5 Overall

“I’m super happy to finish the rally with a strong result and without any big problems. Any race like this that is held 90% off piste is a huge challenge and you have to stay at maximum focus the whole time. I finished third on today’s stage for fifth overall, which is good, but sometimes the final result doesn’t show the full story. I’m really happy with how I rode here in Abu Dhabi, especially with my navigation while opening the stage. We have made some good changes to the bike too, so all-in-all we’re moving in the right direction.”

After his runner-up result on yesterday’s stage four, Toby Price was second away into today’s timed special. Catching up with the single rider ahead of him by around kilometer 80, the Australian assisted in opening the remainder of the stage. In completing the final stage in 10th, Price secured his top-five result in the overall rally standings, claiming fourth, 14 seconds ahead of teammate Walkner.

Toby Price – P10 / P4 Overall

“I’m pleased with how the race has gone. I’m definitely feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike, and was well in the hunt for the podium, which is definitely an improvement over Dakar. It’s been a tough event and I’m definitely feeling a little bruised and battered right now, but I’ve completed the race in more or less one piece. I got off on the wrong foot on day one with the GPS issue, but that’s out of our control. And the result still isn’t quite where I want to be, but the team has done a great job and we’ve learned a lot from the event. I’ve got a few things to work on before the next race, so we’ll go away now and get ready for the next round.”

Following the technical issue that plagued his day-four result, Kevin Benavides had a late 26th place start to today’s stage. Eager to make up time and end his 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on a high, the 2021 Dakar winner pushed hard through all of the 209 kilometers that made up the special, ultimately finishing as fourth quickest. Despite the time lost and penalty incurred on day four, Benavides was able to salvage a highly commendable 13th place overall, and will take many positives from the event.

Kevin Benavides – P4 / P13 Overall

“It’s been a tough race, and a little disappointing obviously because of the issue I had yesterday, but I’m pleased that up until that point I was in the fight for the win. It always feels good to complete a race and I managed to do a good job with my navigation all the way through, as well as avoiding any big crashes, so physically I feel good. It’s been a really good test of my speed and I have definitely found more pace when riding in the dunes, so all-in-all the event has been positive. We have some work to do now before the next race, so hopefully I can come back even stronger in Andalucia.”

Joaquim Rodrigues, followed up his impressive Dakar 2022 performance with a consistent performance all through the five days of the rally, making it to the top-10 in each stage. In the fifth and final stage, he finished with the eighth fastest time and earned the sixth position in the overall standings of the rally.

Joaquim Rodrigues – P8/ P6 Overall

“It was a really good week for us – good performance from the bike and myself. Hero MotoSports is doing a fantastic job, and the results speak for itself. We have a really strong team now with Ross Branch having joined us, and Caimi back in action. I have no doubts that we’ll be achieving a lot more in the races to come. It’s been a great race, and let’s look forward to the next.”

José Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo rounded out the Monster Energy Honda Team effort. He took seventh on the stage and finished in a corresponding position at the end of the rally. It turned out to be a troublesome rally for the young Chilean rider, after a crash yesterday, which made it all the more difficult to improve upon the final position.

José Ignacio Cornejo – P7 / P7 Overall

“We finished the race. I had a great time on the bike, with some very good feelings. I had some setbacks that left me out of the fight but there is nothing left to do but keep working. I think we are doing things right. Despite not being happy with seventh place, I will keep working to get the results that we are looking for. We are already focusing on the forthcoming championship races. The team has worked very well all week and I want to thank them for that. I also want to congratulate my team-mates Ricky and Pablo who finished on the podium.”

Facing his toughest test of the entire ADDC on the final day of racing, Luciano Benavides opened the short, 209-kilometre special following his impressive stage win yesterday. With the relatively simple and fast special offering little to separate the riders, Luciano would lose only a minimal amount of time to the leaders and complete the stage as 14th fastest. In what proved to be a considerable learning experience for Luciano in Abu Dhabi, the Argentinian embraced all the challenges that fell his way and would ultimately secure ninth overall.

Luciano Benavides – P14 / P9 Overall

“I’m happy to have reached the finish line healthy and it was a challenging race for sure. I opened three of the stages, which was difficult but I embraced the challenge and learned a lot. It was a great experience opening each time that’s for sure. For the next race I need to be a little bit stronger early on so that I’m up front in the overall as once you lose time it’s so hard to make it up on the leaders. Winning yesterday’s stage was great for my confidence though and it shows that I have the speed. Overall, there has been a lot of positives that I’ll take away from here.”

With little time aboard his FR 450 Rally prior to the ADDC due to injury, the Skyler Howes used the event to race himself back into shape with a third-place finish on stage three undoubtedly the highlight of his week. Improving with each passing day, the American completed the rally with a strong sixth-place finish on stage five and despite an understandably steady start to the ADDC, Skyler would place 10th overall in the final standings.

Skyler Howes – P6 / P10 Overall

“The final stage was pretty simple and straightforward, and I rode alone for all of it, which does add a little bit of difficulty. But overall, throughout the rally I’ve improved, and my confidence has returned after my crash at the Dakar. I got stronger all week and by day three I was back to feeling like my normal self out there. It’s great to be back with the team and racing again and finishing this race in one piece, so I’m happy about that and now it’s onto the next one.”

Still recovering from an unfortunate crash last November, Franco Caimi experienced a tough week in the sands of Abu Dhabi. However, his utmost resolve to bounce back stronger, saw him deliver a highly impressive result. Franco finished the last stage in the tenth position. His consistent improvement throughout the rally places him at the eighth position in the overall Rally GP class ranking table.

Franco Caimi – P10 / P8 Overall

“I’m super happy to be standing here at the end of this race. It’s a big accomplishment for me. A good return to the race track after my accident last November. Since then, I’ve been working very hard to get back to racing, and I’m happy to have finished the race with some good results. This is highly encouraging, and I look forward to come back to the next race much stronger.”

Ross Branch, who had suffered a severe crash and could not finish Stage 1 of the rally, showcased Hero spirit and extreme commitment to win the very next stage. He finished the last stage in the fourteenth position, and made it to the thirteenth place in the overall Rally GP class standings.

Ross Branch – P14 / P13 Overall

“The result is not what we wanted, but overall, I think it has been a good race for me. It was good for my confidence to run up to the front, and over these last few days I actually learnt a lot. I don’t have to put a 100% in every day – that’s the main learning I’m walking out of here with. I know I’ve got the speed, but I will go back and keep working on my consistency. We’ve got the whole year ahead, and I’m really excited. The Hero Rally 450 is an amazing work of art, and I’ve been loving every moment with it. The team is also incredible, my team mates are really helpful, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be here. We can only go forward from here, and I know we’ll achieve great things.”

2022 ADDC Stage 5 Results

2022 ADDC Final Standing

2022 World Rally Raid Championship FIM Standings