Lorenzo Santolino left the Dakar because of a problem

Second stage and second loss of the Spaniard to the leading riders in the motorcycle category of the Dakar. If in stage 1 bad luck struck Tosha Schareina, who had to leave after breaking his wrist in a fall on a rocky area, this Sunday, in stage 2 of the Dakar 2024, Lorenzo Santolino will have to say goodbye to the most difficult race. to the world early.

The Sherco pilot from Salamanca suffered a mechanical problem with his Sherco 450 SEF at the start of the day, at kilometer 17 of the timed special. The Spaniard was unable to fix his motorcycle and had to leave, leaving his motorcycle in the desert and being evacuated by a racing helicopter.

The abandonment of the Guijuelo rider is a severe blow for him, who came after several months of working on his bike to improve his 6th position in 2021. In 2022 he was 11th and in 2023 he is back in the Top-10 with the 9th position. This year he set the goal of 5th place, a Top-5 that almost tasted success. At Sherco, which has a smaller budget than other structures such as Honda or KTM, he prefers to prioritize conducting more tests and working with the motorcycle to improve the suspensions, geometries and general behavior of the motorcycle . But above all, also reliability. However, fate wanted a mechanical problem to end the options of a Lorenzo who started the Dakar 2024 on a very good foot.

The Spaniard had a very good start to the rally. In the prologue stage he got a good starting position for stage 1 and in the first special, very difficult and long, he managed to finish 7th to be placed 6th overall, 14′”11 behind the leader, but three just minutes behind the finish line. . second rally position in a very close chase. In his Sherco he struggled to fight the big favourites, but with his usual persistence, he could be strong in finding his goal. He didn’t was able to try. The problem with his motorcycle left him.