Hero MotoSports continues to excel with 3 days to go

David Bodapati January 12, 2022

1 635 2 minutes read

Joaquim Rodrigues in action during Stage 9 on Tuesday. A Hero MotoSports image

Wadi Ad Dawasir (Saudi Arabia), 11 Jan. 2022: Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, has completed the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally 2022 with yet another strong result.

Continuing his consistent performance at Dakar 2022, Joaquim Rodrigues finished the stage in the 11^th position. The day’s terrain featured a lot more canyons and rocks than in the earlier stages. Despite the difficult terrain, J-Rod rode and finished well and with it, maintained his 14^th place in the overall RallyGP class standings.

His teammate Aaron Maré finished at the 17^th position. Aaron found himself riding at a much better pace than in the previous stage, although a minor navigation mistake and a small fall cost him some time. His consistent run throughout the rally places him at the 16^th position in the overall RallyGP class rankings.

Aaron Mare successfully completes Stage 9 on 11 January 2022. A Hero MotoSports image

The 287 km long Stage 9 was a loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir, featuring a change in scenery from the previous stages. It threw new challenges to the competitors as the riders traversed their way to the finish through narrow passages between valleys and canyons, upside down dunes, and some fast tracks.

Coming up next is a 374 km stretch of beautiful landscapes and colors, touted to be one of the fastest special sections of this season. Starting early from Wadi Ad-Dawasir, the competitors will ride a total of over 757 kms to reach the bivouac at Bisha.

Joaquim Rodrigues

“It was a different stage today with a lot of canyons and rocks, but still a fast one. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable today and wasn’t riding very fast. Anyhow, I was able to finish the stage, and I look forward to continuing the good performance till the end of the race.”

Aaron Maré

“I enjoyed my pace in this stage and felt comfortable riding in this terrain. Early on, I caught up with a rider in front and we ended up making a navigation error, and lost some time there again. Later, after refuel I had a small fall while in the dunes and lost some time. This threw me back by a few positions on the table. At the end of the stage, I’m happy to have finished yet another stage without any injuries, and look forward to the last three days of the race.”

Provisional Stage 9 Rankings – RallyGP class:

1. Jose Ignacio Cornejo, Monster Energy Honda, 02h 29m 30s;

2. Kevin Benavides,Red Bull KTM Factory Team,+ 01m 26s;

3. Ricky Brabec,Monster Energy Honda, + 01m 47s;

4. Matthias Walkner, Red Bull KTM Factory Team, + 02m 06s;

11. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 06m 43s;

17. Aaron Maré, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 10m 35s;

Provisional Overall Standings after Stage 9 – RallyGP class:

1. Matthias Walkner, Red Bull KTM Factory Team, 30h 14m 03s;

2. Sam Sunderland, GasGas Factory Racing, + 02m 12s;

3. Adrien van Beveren, Monster Energy Yamaha, + 03m 56s;

4. Pablo Quintanilla, Monster Energy Honda, + 04m 41s;