Race9 janvier 2021
The 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally proved to be one of the toughest in its history. With organizers delivering a punishing route across the entire 12 days of competition, the event included a wide variety of terrain together with some of the most technically demanding navigation seen in recent years.
Great results for Airohriders at Dakar Rally 2021 with 6/6 at the finish line. All top 20!
Sam Sunderland: “I did my best over the whole rally, so I can’t be too disappointed, I guess. It was always going to be hard setting off first this morning and I knew I had to push hard to make up those minutes. I couldn’t find one waypoint early on in the dunes and lost far too much time trying to find it. There is always a fine balance and when you push your speed, the navigation can lose out. I’m super happy as I know I gave it my all. The other guys did a great job and after what was such a tough event with several crashes and people being forced to retire with technical issues, I’m glad to be here safe at the finish line and in third place. I honestly think that has been one of the toughest races I have ever done – the pace at the top is so high, we’re having to fight every single day and there is no time to relax. Congratulations to all those who finished and get well soon to those who crashed out.”
Pablo Quintanilla: “Finally the race is over and I’m happy to finish another Dakar. For sure, we didn’t receive the result we had hoped for but over the whole race we worked really hard as a team and were able to identify a few things we can improve. I’m happy with my riding, especially on what was such a tough event, and my fitness has been good too. To finish inside the top 10 is always good and seventh is still an extremely good result, I just know I should be fighting for the podium. We’ll go away and work hard now this year and we’ll definitely be back stronger in 2022.”
Dakar 2021, General Ranking
3. Sam Sunderland (KTM)
6. Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco)
7. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna)
12. Jaume Betriu (KTM)
19. Rui Gonçalves (Sherco)
20. Harith Noah (Sherco)
credits: press.ktm.com; husqvarna-motorcycle.com and Sherco racing
follow: Airoh Helmet Racing
