GasGas’s Sunderland Wins 2022 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship

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GasGas’s Sam Sunderland is the 2022 FIM World Rally Raid Champion. Needing only three points on the final rally event, Sunderland’s finish gave him enough points to take the crown. His victory gives GasGas its first FIM World Championship title in its history.

Sunderland wins with GASGAS

After winning the Dakar, Sunderland led the championship early. But after winning round two at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, it was clear that he was already a top competitor able to snatch the championship title for GASGAS.

After a couple of postponements and cancellations in the FIM’s World Rally calendar, it wasn’t until early October that Sunderland could line up for the Rallye du Maroc. Despite a pre-race crash that left him with pain, Sunderland soldiered on and earned a gutsy fifth-place overall finish. This finish allowed him to retain his overall championship lead going into the final round at Andalucia.

Rally Raid final round

By the time he reached the year’s final round at the Andalucia Rally, Sunderland needed only three points to take the championship. Still, the British rider pushed during the prologue stage and set the fastest time. Staying on the gas, he finished stage one with a second-place finish. Unfortunately, the rally’s second day was canceled due to bad weather. Stage 3 proved to be a challenge for the rider. He made a couple of mistakes which cost him time, and he picked up a time penalty. The combination meant he would not finish on the podium. Still, Sunderland only needed to complete the rally’s final stage to be named the 2022 FIM World Rally Raid Champion. He did just that, finishing tenth and taking the championship.

Sunderland’s crazy year

Sunderland is quoted by GASGAS as saying:

Amazing! It’s been a crazy year with the Dakar win and then winning in Abu Dhabi, but then we had a big gap over the summer. We were back in action for the last round in Morocco, but that one was tough as I hurt my wrist in a crash before we even started. But with the championship on the line, I had no choice but to push through it, and my result there really made things easier for the final round. I had a couple of close calls yesterday, and after that, and knowing that getting on the overall podium would be almost impossible, I kept things super steady. I’m really grateful to have the GASGAS Factory Racing team behind me, it’s been an amazing year, and I know we’re all looking forward to celebrating this one!”

GASGAS now has an FIM World Rally Championship under its belt. They are now one of the top threats to win future rally raids among the big-name manufacturers.

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