Sam Sunderland, one of the favorites to win the motorcycles in the 2024 Dakar and champion of the 2022 edition, was abandoned this Monday in stage 3 after experiencing a mechanical problem with his motorcycle.
The GasGas pilot stopped for more than 3 and a half hours at kilometer 11, trying to fix his engine, until he finally gave up. In this way, Sunderlans extended its streak of bad luck after winning the Dakar 2022.
The 34-year-old Briton had 2023 to forget and started 2024 the same way. Sam Sunderland abandoned stage 1 of the 2023 Dakar due to a serious fall and this year he is looking for revenge. He missed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge after suffering a fractured tibia in his previous final training session. He suffered another crash and retirement in the Sonora Rally and also had to retire in the Desafío Ruta 40 and the Rallye du Maroc when he fell ill. He wanted to wipe the slate clean and forget about a bitter 2023 by starting 2024 in a big way, but he couldn’t do it because of a breakdown in the motorcycle category where some favorites have already exited.
The first day was the turn of one of the contenders for victory, Tosha Schareina, who had to leave stage 1 due to a fall in which she injured her wrist. That same day, Hero driver Joaquim Rodrigues said goodbye after an accident. In stage 2, Lorenzo Santolino had to retire due to a problem with his motorcycle in the first kilometer of the special when he was clearly capable of fighting for the Top-5 of this edition. And on stage 3, another of the top drivers, Sam Sunderland, bid an early farewell to the toughest race in the world.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
