It has been a punishing two weeks at Dakar 2022, which started on the 1st of January 2022. There were 99 Can-Am vehicles in this gruelling rally, 2 quads, 49 Light Prototypes and 48 Side-By-Sides.
In the Side-By-Side category T4, during stage 1, Can-Am immediately took the lead, with Polish driver and navigator respectively Aron Domzala and Maciej Marton taking the first win for their team, Can-Am Factory South Racing. Their teammates, American Austin Jones and navigator the Brazilian Gustavo Gugelmin took second.
In the Light Prototypes T3 in stage 1, Can-Am held second – Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) and Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre (CHL) of EKS- South Racing – and third – Sebastian Eriksson (SWE) and Wouter Rosegaar (NLD) also of EKS – South Racing.
In the Quads at stage 1 the first Can-Am took 15th place, by Alex Feliu (ESP) and 16th place Nicolas Robledo Serna (COL).
At the halfway mark, end of stage 6 T4 rookies Rodrigo Luppi De Oliveira (BRA) and Maykel Justo (BRA) of South Racing Can-Am still lead the category in front of their teammates Austin Jones (USA) and Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA).
T3 stage 6 position 1 and 2 was still occupied by EKS-South Racing team, with Legends Francisco Lopez Contardo (CHL) and Huan Pablo Latrach Vinagre (CHL) holding first and rookies, Sebastian Eriksson (SWE) and Wouter Rosegaar (NLD) in a close second.
Alex Felui (ESP) pushed himself to 8th place and Nicolas Robledo Serna (COL) managed to secure 9th in the quad category.
By the end the competitors completed a very dusty, tough 7790km.
T3
Following last year's victory in the T4 race, the former biker from Chile has emerged victorious in the T3 category. Winning by 51' 28'' over EKS teammate Sebastian Eriksson and a whopping 4H 34' 43'' over 3rd place Cristina Gutierrez Herrero.
Francisco "Chaleco" López: "It was a long race. These two weeks went pretty smoothly. It was a completely different scenario compared to last year, when I had to go flat out every day without fail. After stage 2, we held a considerable lead, so we just needed to focus on making it to the finish day after day. I'm really happy that our strategy worked out. It was a test of endurance, we had to avoid breakdowns. After all that, victory tastes really sweet."
T4
AJ JONES “Dakar is the ultimate test of off-road racing. Nothing else compares to it. Competing for 14 days, in Saudi Arabia’s diverse terrain, and to live out here, it’s so much harder than you think. Not only is it a test of driving, it’s a mental game. There’s a reason Dakar is considered the toughest race in the world.
“To be the youngest American to win means a lot. Winning Dakar is everything. It’s everything that you work for. All the training. All the work you put in. This is the most important race. To win the Dakar is the number one goal in rally racing.
