'Wrong canyon' costs Danilo Petrucci on Dakar Stage 8
After a to🦂ugh Stage 7, in which he struggled with fatigue, an injured elbow and navigation errors, Danilo Petrucci put together a strong performance to run well inside the top 20 for much of Monday's Stage 8.
But a sma🎃ll mistake in the closing stages sent the former MotoGP rider down the 'wrong canyon', costing him several minutes and dropping him to 25th.
“I’m happyཧ to get to the finish as it was a very, very long day today," Petrucci said of the mammoth 830km route.
"From the start I tried to find a good solid rhythꦯꦰm and then attack when it was safe to do so.
"I was really pleased with my navigation but just towaဣrds the end, I found myself in the wrong canyon and I had to turn around to get back on track.
"It’s frustrating, but it also 🌳means I have a strong start꧑ing position for tomorrow," added the Stage 5 winner.
Out of overall contention due to a technical problem on Stage 2, Petrucci's main priority is to reach the finish and build experience for a future Dakar ꦇreturn.
At the front of this year's Dakar field, GASGAS rider Sam Sunderland retook the lead with hi▨s first stage win of 2022 and holds a 3m 45s advantage over Petrucci's factory KTM team-mate Matthias Walkner.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go♌. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
