Danilo Petrucci completes 2022 Dakar Rally, Sunderland victory

Danilo Petrucci has successfully completed the 2022 Dakar Rally at his first attempt, completing the twelfth and final 680 km stage just outside the top 30.

The Italian made history as the first MotoGP rider to win a Dakar stage on day 5, but was already out of the overall running due to an earlier electrical fault, which forced the recovery of his KTM.

Focussing on reaching the finish of the gruelling Saudi Arabian event, also his first ever competitive rally-raid appearance, Petrucci was left sore by several big accidents and had to overcome the inevitable fatigue of riding over 8,000 km.

"I am so happy to finally reach the finish line and to complete the goal I set out to do. It's been a tough time both leading up to the event and the race itself, but to complete my first ever Dakar feels amazing," Petrucci said.

"I'm really happy with my performance but over the last couple of days I have had some crashes and feel quite sore at the moment. Thanks to all the team for their hard work, it has been an amazing experience and one of the hardest things I have ever done."

Victory in the bike class went to GASGAS rider Sam Sunderland, who held off Honda's Pablo Quintanilla by just 3m 27s with KTM's Matthias Walkner completing the podium (+6m 47s).

“This win feels better than the first as this victory was anything but easy," Sunderland said. "The times were so close this year and there was no time to let off the gas, it was a really close race, right to the end."

While Petrucci insists this will not be his last Dakar, the double MotoGP race winner is now tipped to return to asphalt by racing for Ducati in MotoAmerica this season.