Many dunes, very wet sand and two long links, mark the stage from Ha’il to Al Qsysumah.
The three KLIM TwinTrail Racing drivers pass the second stage of the Dakar 2022 without problems.

The second stage of the Dakar 2022 has offered a great driving recital on dunes. As the Spanish KLIM TwinTrail Racing rider Carles Falcón has said, it has been a day of surfing on the sand of Saudi Arabia, which has also had more difficulty than usual due to the rains of recent days that have left the sand very wet and with many ruts.

Following the established plan

The main objective of KLIM TwinTrail Racing in its Dakar debut is none other than to finish the 12 stages of the race in the Originals by Motul category, the category without assistance. A double challenge due to the combination of completing the more than 8,000km of the Rally and managing fatigue when it comes to checking the bike every day after the stage after resting for a few hours in the tent.

“The day has been a bit long,” explained Isaac Feliu, the first KLIM TwinTrail Racing rider to arrive at the Al Qsysumah bivouac. “Everything went very well, without problems and without making any mistakes. But we have been riding all day on sand and at the end of the stage, I was already a bit tired and I slowed down a bit to avoid stupid crashes like the ones I had yesterday ”. Isaac Feliu finished 84th the second stage of the Dakar 2022 and ranks 14th in the Original by Motul category.

The next to arrive at the bivouac has been Albert Martín, who has suffered especially from the long links of the day. Due to the cancellation of the marathon stage, the pilots had to do 280 km of connection after the stage “today we have done many kilometers of connection. We got up very early and in the first link I was quite cold. After the stage I have enjoyed it, although it has been of dunes and more dunes, physically hard, especially the last 30-40km, because the cars have passed us and they have left the terrain very complicated, since the sand was very wet and they have been some complicated ruts ”. The Valls rider set the 75th time of the day and remains 10th among the Originals.

Finally, Carles Falcón from Tarragona enjoyed the dune day: “the first part was faster but then we entered a sea of ​​infinite dunes. We had to go surfing on the sand, which I am not very used to, until I saw how other riders were doing it, I separated from the lines and from there I was much better. I have enjoyed and finished the second stage, one more day completed. ” Falcón has finished 100th this second stage and now occupies 17th position in the category without assistance.

Today the three KLIM TwinTrail Racing riders have done a basic maintenance on their bikes: changing the oil, air filter, cleaning the bike, greasing the chain and checking some screws. For now they are all on the same tires and mousses from the first day.

Third stage: long link and 368km of special

The cancellation of the marathon stage has meant that today the riders had to make a longer final link and the same will happen tomorrow with the link until the start of the special. A 368km special that will be marked by a first part with a lot of sand and a second faster and that a priori could seem somewhat more affordable from a technical point of view. Yes, it will be important to be focused on the navigation, as the drivers will find continuous crossings of tracks that could cause errors.

Results Stage 2

1. #088 Joan Barreda (ESP)    3:31:20

2. #003 Sam Sunderland (GBR)   3:36:53 GAP +5:33

3. #001 Kevin Benavides (ARG)  3:37:14 GAP +5:54

75. #136 Albert Martin (ESP)   4:50:04 GAP +1:18:44

84. #134 Isaac Feliu (ESP)  5:00:17 GAP +1:28:57

100. #135 Carles Falcón (ESP)  5:19:35 GAP +1:48:15

Results General 

1. #003 Sam Sunderland (GBR)     8:31:29

2. #042 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA)   8:34:20 GAP  +2:51

3. #004 Daniel Sanders (AUS)  8:34:58 GAP  +3:29

69. #136 Albert Martin (ESP)   11:42:56 GAP +3:11:27

77. #134 Isaac Feliu (ESP)  11:57:19 GAP +3:25:50

80. #135 Carles Falcón (ESP)  12:21:39 GAP +3:50:10

Results Original Motul Stage 2:

1. #036 Arunas Gelazninkas (LTU)  4:07:58

2. #021 Milan Engel (CZE)   4:13:35 GAP +5:37

3. #039 Benjamin Melot (FRA)  4:14:29 GAP +6:31

11. #136 Albert Martin (ESP)   4:50:04 GAP +42:06

13. #134 Isaac Feliu (ESP)  5:00:17 GAP +52:19

16. #135 Carles Falcón (ESP)  5:19:35 GAP +1:11:37

Results Original General:

1. #036 Arunas Gelazninkas (LTU)  9:33:31

2. #021 Milan Engel (CZE)   9:40:11 GAP  +6:40

3. #123 Charan Moore(ZAF)   10:08:20 GAP +34:49

10. #136 Albert Martin (ESP)   11:42:56 GAP +2:09:25

14. #134 Isaac Feliu (ESP)  11:57:19 GAP +2:23:48

17. #135 Carles Falcón (ESP)  12:21:39 GAP +2:48:08

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