advrider Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Sam Sunderland is having a killer year in FIM Cross-Country Rallies racing, with a first-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Add that to his win at the Dakar Rally, and SunderSam is now looking like he is going to have a career-defining season if his luck holds up, and he isn’t pushed out of any events by any injuries to his bike or his body. Seeing as this is rally raid racing, that’s almost certainly going to happen—but Sutherland is consistently winning this year. He was first overall on Stage 5 at Abu Dhabi, so he came to the finish line in the physical and overall lead in the race, and the overall lead in the FIM series. Pretty great stuff for the Brit-born rider (but not so great for his opponents). Remember that Sutherland is in his first year of headlining the new GasGas rally raid team, after an unceremonious departure from the KTM factory squad. Despite winning a Dakar for them, KTM shifted him to the “Red” team, and while it was not confirmed, there were rumors of unhappiness over Sutherland’s presence on the team. Who knows what the truth is, really, as it could all be baseless gossip, but whatever the reason for the move, Sutherland has made the best of his move. Ricky Brabec was second overall at Abu Dhabi, which will probably cheer the Honda team up, especially as relative newcomer Pablo Quintanilla was third. As for KTM, seeing Mullet Man (Toby Price, as his mom calls him) back in the top five overall is also probably very encouraging, as he’s had a bit of a slump in recent years. Perhaps he’ll turn things around this season, as he hasn’t been properly banged-up in a crash for a while (at least by his standards), and might be in better form than he’s been in for a couple of years. Rally2 In the Rally2 class, note that American up-and-comer Mason Klein took first, a repeat of his win in that class. Klein was riding with Bas Dakar again. Looks like this kid has The Right Stuff, and we’re betting we will hear about his success for many years to come. The next FIM rally raid event is in Spain, with the Andalucia Rally kicking off on June 6. From there, it should have been the Silk Way Rally, but that seems to be unlikely now, given current geopolitical tensions. Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Final Top 5 1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), GASGAS, 16:54:242. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 16:57:32 +3:083. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Honda, 16:58:20 +3:564. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 17:02:41 +8:175. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 17:02:55 +8:31 Current overall FIM rally raid standings for Rally GP class are here. Vezi sursa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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