Petrucci from MotoGP to Dakar Rally!

[Lightcycle]

Wow. I know most racers have MX experience and train in the dirt, but he looks to have some serious skills!

 

[Ash]

He also broke his fibula in training right before the event, and still plans to race:

Ex-MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci breaks fibula in Dakar training incident

Ex-MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci suffers a fracture of the right ankle while training for his 2022 Dakar Rally debut on KTM machinery

www.visordown.com

 

[Lightcycle]

Those top-level racers are at a different level when it comes to pain tolerance. I remember Lorenzo broke both his ankles and still raced. They had to lift him off the motorcycle at the end of the race.

Still managed to finish second...

 

[Riceburner]

Good luck to him....but riding is only a small part of rallying, I hear.

 

[Lightcycle]

Good luck to him....but riding is only a small part of rallying, I hear.

True. But factory support is going to make life a lot easier for him compared to the privateers!

 

[Riceburner]

big understatement. lol

...but yeah, was thinking the same thing. ...and the other factory riders will help "train" him too.

 

[Ash]

Dakar for Newbies:

 

[Ash]

Prologue / Stage 1A:

Petrucci in 23rd

 

[Ash]

Stage 1B:

Petrucci in 13th after a bunch of the front runners get lost for 30 minutes to an hour!

 

[Lightcycle]

Petrucci in 13th after a bunch of the front runners get lost for 30 minutes to an hour!

Whohoo!!!

That's the danger of being a front-runner, especially for bikes. Roadbook only received 20 minutes before the race, you're the first class of vehicles out of the gates, absolutely no tracks on the ground to follow.

 

[Brian P]

Evidently he is out with mechanical breakdown.

 

[Ash]

https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/20220103dak1067/120051/0:0,999:666-1000-0-75/fdb88

One article suggested he might be able to rejoin with a large time penalty. I suspect that he would choose to do so, in order to get the experience and figure out if he's fast enough to be a contender next year.

 

[Ash]

They call it the Joker, which drops you out of overall ranked classification, but still allows you to complete the rally:

Dakar Experience

Official website of the Dakar Rally (ex Paris-Dakar)

www.dakar.com

 

[Ash]

Stage 2:

 

[Sochi]

And just like that he’s out? Fuel line issues? DNF?
Correct me if iam wrong - he has such a clean orange jacket AFTER the finish - did only 150km…

NM just saw the posts above - hopefully he is a joker and will get another life

 

[Lightcycle]

https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-motorSports-dak-jpg/20220103dak1067/120051/0:0,999:666-1000-0-75/fdb88

One article suggested he might be able to rejoin with a large time penalty. I suspect that he would choose to do so, in order to get the experience and figure out if he's fast enough to be a contender next year.

Damn.

He was doing pretty well for his first time out. He will restart Tuesday, but not be in the official classification. Will be good for experience.

In other news, Petrux to MotoAmerica SBK riding a Panigale: Petrucci: "After MotoGP and the Dakar, I will go to MotoAmerica" - MotoAmerica

 

[Chaos]

I am a bit surprised a KTM had a mechanical failure so early in the race.

 

[Ash]

Petrucci back in the race. 22nd place (+2hr 44min) on stage 3 and the third placed rookie on the stage, and he's still listed as 136th (+30 hours) in the overall standings. The fact that he's still listed in the overall ranking suggests that he didn't need to take the Joker thing and can still compete with everyone else, but I'm not clear on that.

 

[Ash]

Stage 3:

Also a brief mention of Carlos Cecha (in the car class) in this one.

 

[Lightcycle]

Also a brief mention of Carlos Cecha (in the car class) in this one.

Checa in the Dakar? Very cool.

Lots of motorcycle racers switching to four wheels. 14-time Dakar winner and and current Audi driver Stephane Peterhansel won 6 Dakar rallies on two wheels.