Seth Quintero continues to rack up stage victories like no other racer in any class in the 2022 Dakar Rally. The young American is now eight for nine on stages after yet another triumph on Tuesday’s Wadi Ad Dawasir loop, completing the 287-kilometer special stage in 2:50:04. Red Bull teammate Cristina Gutierrez was second at 2:20 back, while overall class leader Chaleco Lopez was third at 5:29 behind.
Proving just how much his mechanical issues on Stage 2 reshaped the entire rally, Quintero’s combined advantage over Lopez during the remaining stages is now up to 1:19:08. That’s just 43 seconds fewer than Lopez’s overall lead on EKS South Racing teammate Sebastian Eriksson for the top spot in the class, aided in part by being the only racer in the class to avoid any penalties throughout the event thus far. Fellow South Racing driver Fernando Alvarez completes the overall class podium at more than three hours back.
In the SSVs, Marek Goczal once again flexed his muscles by winning his class-leading fourth stage of the event and third in four days. The recent run of success has enabled the Polish driver to claw back to fourth overall; after spending much of the event more than an hour off of the lead, his current deficit is now down to just 32:19 behind overall leader Austin Jones.
As for Jones, the American was able to properly extend his advantage today with a second place stage finish, growing it to 13:47 over Gerard Farres. Goczal’s younger brother Michal remains third at 16:27 back, while Rokas Baciuska completes the top five with a 36:10 deficit. Former overall leader Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira rebounded for a fourth place stage finish today after back-to-back days with setbacks, and remains sixth at just over an hour out of the top spot he formerly held.
2022 Dakar Rally Stage 9 winners were as follows:
- Light Prototype: Seth Quintero (USA), 2:50:04
- SSV: Marek Goczal (POL), 3:00:52
2022 Dakar Rally overall leaders after Stage 9 are as follows:
- Light Prototype: Chaleco Lopez (CHL), 35:47:12
- SSV: Austin Jones (USA), 37:14:28
The Dakar Rally takes on its longest remaining stage on Wednesday, with 375 kilometers of fast special stage action taking the bivouac to Bisha. Coverage of Stage 9 will air on the Olympic Channel tonight at 8PM ET, with extended highlights also streaming on NBC Sports digital platforms.
