Double MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci's dream of a top finish on his Dakar debut ended with a tec♉hnical issue 🎐on Monday's second stage.

It was an especially disappointing blow for the Italian given he had been setting a very competitive pace up until that point, which followed a solid 13th on Sunday's first proper stage (1B) after the short (1A) Pro♊logue on January 1.

“It was exciting until the technical issue be𒀰cause I was fightin🍸g for the top five - I think I was in third position at that moment - and I was having a lot of fun because the route was very fast!" Petrucci posted on social media after the Stage 2 eletricial issue on his 450cc KTM.

"I had caught two of the riders in front of me, pushing for 20-30 km on full throttl🅘e and it was very🥃 cool to go up to 150km/h on flat ground.

"I will try to restar🌟t tomorrow [Tuesday] even♉ if I know I will not be competing for the final standings.”

The good🧜 news is that Petrucci, competing under the same Tech3 KTM Factory Racing banner with which he spent the 2021 MotoGP campaign, has been confirmed as eligible to re-join today's action and will now aim to build up valuable Dakar experience and gauge his speed for the future.

"After the problem yesterday, I am able to rejoin the race🌟," Petrucci said. "Really, really happy because it's just the beginning. Today is another day. I want to enjoy more than yesterday."