Ninth place finish for 2022 Dakar Champion as Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge starts to take itstoll on the field Day two proved tough for Sam Sunderland as he continued his assault on the 2022 AbuDhabi Desert Challenge, with him finishing the day in ninth, after the long and tough stagetwo. The stage was eventually won by Hero’s Ross Branch, with Husqvarna’s LucianoBenavides and KTM’s Kevin Benavides just behind. The finish left him in fourth overall in the rankings, but with a strong start position for stagethree, where he plans to make up the time lost and attack the remainder of the race.“Day two is in the books. It was a bit of a scary one early on as I saw Mike Docherty had hada crash. I stopped to see if they needed help, but thankfully they were ok,” said Sunderland.“After that I tried to chase down Matthias (Walkner) ahead, but…

Enea Bastianini took an emotional first premier class win under the flood lights of Qatar, aheadof Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro. There was history on the table in the first Grand Prix of the season, as Enea Bastianini of Gresini Racing stepped up to the plate. The ‘Beast’ delivered a masterclass in the Grand Prix of Qatar to claim an emotional victory under the lights, which he dedicated to the late Fausto Gresini. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder produced a terrific ride to seal P2 and KTM’s best atthe track by some margin, the South African ultimately just 0.3s away from the win. Pol Espargaro, on board the Repsol Honda took third, after leading the way for much of the race. As the lights went out and the curtain went up on the season, polesitter Jorge Martin (PramacRacing) got an uncharacteristically poor start, and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)…

All three of UAE-based Vendetta Racing Team finish day one of the Abu Dhabi DesertChallenge The Milwaukee Tools sponsored Vendetta Racing Team of Tom Childs, William McBride andOran Kelly did well on the first day in the desert, finding their feet, but all making it safelyback to the bivouac. The riders missed a couple of waypoints and picked up some speedingpenalties, but nothing too taxing for day one. With tomorrow seeing the first of the Marathon stages, the riders will have to be easy onthe bikes and tyres, as no outside assistance will be allowed until the end of day three. Team Vendetta Results: Team Vendetta Results:130 – Tom Childs FB- tom.childs.750132 – William McBride @william_mcbride_ni132 – Oran Kelly @oran.okelly Bike Middle East will be following the team throughout the rally. Follow us for updates on Facebook

2022 Dakar Champion carries winning momentum into round two of world championship with strong performance on opening day UAE-based Dakar Champion Sam Sunderland got his 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge off toa strong start, going fastest on the opening stage, taking the sandy tracks and rolling dunesin his stride. “We’re back to it – not that long after Dakar. It’s always cool to come here to Abu Dhabi,the race is always good, and I like to ride in the dunes,” said Sunderland. “The plan after yesterday’s prologue was to push on today’s stage, which I managed to do. I didn’t gainback quite as much time as I would have liked, and I’m leading out tomorrow, so hopefully Ican do a good job with the navigation. The bike is working great and I’m looking forward tostage two.” After yesterday’s short 2km prologue sorted the start order for the opening stage, SamSunderland…

Justin Barcia and Pierce Brown both pick up podiums for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory racing team at the Triple Crown format Arlington Supercross. Team riders Justin Barcia and Pierce Brown took on the second ‘Triple Crown’ event of theAMA Supercross season and despite having mixed overall results, both riders delivered amain event podium in their respective classes. For Barcia, it was a strong start to the three-race format as he enjoyed a second-placepodium result in the first 450SX race, while teammate Brown brought it home as runner-upin the final 250SX Eastern race of the night in Arlington, Texas.With three Main Events in each class, the Triple Crown format gives race fans a hugeamount of racing to absorb. In 450SX, Barcia grabbed a top-five start for the first gate dropof the night and he battled inside the top-three early on. With two of the front-runnersgoing down ahead of him,…