Everything is ready for the Dakar 2022! The 44th edition of the toughest rally in the world will take place from 1 to 14 January 2022 (the prologue is scheduled for January 1) and will be the third played in Saudi Arabia. The 2022 route is about 85% new, compared to that of 2021. The race officially kicks off with the prologue, of 19 km, on 1 January from Jeddah, or in the city where the final arrival on 12 January, where the pilots will return later 8,375 km of which 4,258 in a race against time. The departure of the first real stage is then scheduled the following day from Ha’il. Along the course of the Dakar 2022 the pilots will face the Rub ‘al Khali, the largest sand desert in the world. Its name means “empty fourth”, understood as the fourth part after sky, earth and sea. Excluding the prologue, in the twelve actual stages, scheduled from 2 to 14 January 2022, the pilots will make a clockwise route through Saudi Arabia. The longest special stage will be 465 kilometers and will be held during the fourth stage, while the overall longest leg will be 828 kilometers, on 10 January. The marathon stage, in which the riders will not be able to receive mechanical assistance at the bivouac, will take place immediately at the start of the race, on 3 and 4 January. The day off is scheduled in Riyadh on January 8th. For the first time in the history of the competition, drivers who retire due to mechanical failures or accidents can rejoin the race the next day.
At the start of the race a total of 1,065 participants (between pilots and co-drivers) from 63 countries around the world: 149 motorcyclists, out of a total of 430 vehicles registered. Fifteen Italian motorcyclists at the start: Paolo Lucci (Husqvarna FR450, n.46), Cesare Zacchetti (KTM Rally 450, n.55), Franco Picco (Fantic 450 Rally, n.66), Francesco Catanese (Honda RMH 450 RX, n.68), Leonardo Tonelli (Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica, n.71), Tiziano Interno (Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica, n.73), Giovanni Stigliano (KTM 450 Rally Replica, n.82), Danilo Petrucci (KTM 450 Rally Replica, no.90), Lorenzo Piolini (KTM Rally Replica, n.92), Giovanni Gritti (Honda 450 Rally RX RS, n.93), Domenico Cipollone (KTM 450 Rally Replica, n.119), Lorenzo Maria Fanottoli (Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica, n . 121), Elio Aglioni (KTM 450 Rally Replica, no.146), Andrea Giuseppe Fili Winkler (KTM 450 Rally Replica, no.156), Aldo Winkler (KTM 450 Rally Replica, no.157).
On the following pages you will find the details of each stage and the info to follow the Dakar 2022 on TV or in streaming.
.
