MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/: Dmitry Sotnikov’s crew from Russia’s Kamaz-Master Team won the 2022 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in the trucks category after winning Stage 12, the final round of the legendary rally race, on Friday.
The 44th Dakar Rally was held across the territory of Saudi Arabia between January 2 and 14, 2022 and consisted of 12 stages.
Defending Champion Sotnikov and his crew of Ruslan Akhmadeyev and Ilgiz Akhmetzyanov clocked the 164-kilometer stretch of the final stage in 1 hour 42 minutes and 41 seconds.
The squad from Big Shock Racing Team, led by Martin Macik (jointly with Frantisek Tomasek and David Svanda) of the Czech Republic, finished Stage 12 in 2nd place only 32 seconds behind the winners.
Team Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing, led by Chile’s Ignacio Casale, finished the final stretch of the rally in Saudi Arabia in 3rd place clocking 1 hour 43 minutes 42 seconds.
For the first time in the history of Dakar Rally racing, Russia’s Team Kamaz-Master won every stage of the prestigious world rally, which has been held annually since 1978.
Sotnikov is 35 years old and he has been racing for Team Kamaz-Master since 2008. He finished 2nd in the overall standings of the Dakar Rally in 2017 and 2019 and became the champion of the event in 2021 and this year. He is also the winner of the 2013 and 2017 Silk Way Rally raids.
