Over 200 days since Sam Sunderland raced to victory at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – round two of the 2022 FIM Rally-Raid World Championship – the series finally fires back into life this weekend at the Rallye du Maroc. Eager to get back to business after a lengthy break in the calendar, the GASGAS Factory Racing star is excited to be back racing in Morocco after a summer spent fine-tuning his RX 450F. It’s time to go racing!
Sam Sunderland: “It’s really exciting to be back racing after a pretty long gap in the calendar. But we’re here, and I can’t wait to get started on Saturday. We’ve done a lot of testing over the summer, including here in Morocco, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the changes we made work in a racing environment. Recently it’s been a case of getting used to the high speeds again but that’s gone well, and everything has fallen into place at just the right time. I’m feeling good and it’s great to be back racing again.”
With a couple of cancellations and postponements during the 2022 rally racing season, Sam Sunderland has made full use of the downtime to further develop his Dakar Rally winning RX 450F. Focused on putting those refinements to the test while keeping one eye on potentially wrapping up the 2022 FIM Rally-Raid World Championship with a round to spare, the Brit is fighting fit and ready for action in Morocco.
Rallye du Maroc kicks off with a short prologue on Saturday, October 1 ahead of the first full length stage on Sunday. In total, the five-day event covers 2,316 kilometers, with 1,575 of those raced against the clock. The fifth and final stage takes place on Thursday, October 6 and once riders have charged across the finish line in Agadir, they’ll have successfully completed round three of the 2022 FIM Rally-Raid World Championship.
Unfortunately, Sam’s teammate, Aussie Daniel Sanders, will be absent from racing in Morocco as he continues to return to full fitness after picking up an early-season injury.