10. Januar 2022

Toyota GAZOO Racing Stage8 Dakar Rally 2022

Eurol in Dakar 2022: Teams survive tough stage 8

“You have to respect the Dakar because the Dakar is the Dakar”, Nasser Al-Attiyah said after a gruelling and long stage 8 in the 2022 Dakar Rally. The Qatari defended his lead in the overall classification, but was relieved to have reached the finish after a tough stage. 

The overall leader in the Dakar Rally only had front-wheel drive for the majority of the stage and that cost some time. Al-Attiyah ended up in P11, but successfully managed his time loss. It gave Giniel de Villiers and Henk Lategan chances to fight for another stage win. Lategan came close, but had to settle for 5th place in the end. Giniel de Villiers lost a bit more, he was in 9th. Shameer Variawa came home in 18th place after a long day behind the wheel.

Bernhard ten Brinke

Bernhard ten Brinke admitted that Monday’s stage was the toughest so far. He finished in P13, just behind Al-Attiyah. “This stage was the toughest one so far”, Ten Brinke wrote. “394 km stage of which 140 km dunes. Today we were at a disadvantage with a V8 engine, because we were driving at altitude (1200m). All in all a faultless stage, but the V6 turbo engines were clearly in their favor today.”

Stage 8 footage

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Mammoet Team De Rooy Iveco

Martin van den Brink was in great form after a 3rd place on Sunday’s stage, but technical problems halted his progress on Monday. Van den Brink had tyre pressure problems and lost a chunk of time. He finished in 12th place, just before his son and teammate Mitchel van den Brink.

Riwald Dakar Team

Gert Huzink also had some trouble along the way to the finish. He came home in 17th place while Pascal de Baar was a bit faster. The veteran in the Dakar Rally ended the stage in 14th place.

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