'Wrong canyon' costs Danilo Petrucci on Dakar Stage 8

After a tough Stage 7, in which he struggled with fatigue, an injured elbow and navigation errors, Danilo Petrucci put together a strong performance to run well inside the top 20 for much of Monday's Stage 8.

But a small mistake in the closing stages sent the former MotoGP rider down the 'wrong canyon', costing him several minutes and dropping him to 25th.

“I’m happy to get to the finish as it was a very, very long day today," Petrucci said of the mammoth 830km route.

"From the start I tried to find a good solid rhythm and then attack when it was safe to do so.

"I was really pleased with my navigation but just towards the end, I found myself in the wrong canyon and I had to turn around to get back on track.

"It’s frustrating, but it also means I have a strong starting position for tomorrow," added the Stage 5 winner.

Out of overall contention due to a technical problem on Stage 2, Petrucci's main priority is to reach the finish and build experience for a future Dakar return.

At the front of this year's Dakar field, GASGAS rider Sam Sunderland retook the lead with his first stage win of 2022 and holds a 3m 45s advantage over Petrucci's factory KTM team-mate Matthias Walkner.