Stage 9 of the 2022 Dakar Rally presented some unusual terrain as participants negotiated nearly 300km through narrow tracks running between valleys and rocky canyons, along with some fast tracks.

With just three more stages to go, both Hero MotoSports riders are holding on to their places in the top 20. Harith Noah encountered some mechanical issues, but still managed to complete the stage.

• Matthias Walkner takes the lead in bikes
• Nasser Al-Attiyah holds on to cars lead despite penalty

Both Hero MotoSports riders in top 20

The key to this stage was taking it steady. Joaquim Rodrigues has been on a consistent charge and set the 11^th fastest time in the stage to move up to 15^th in the overall standings.

Aaron Mare lost some time due to a navigation error in the valleys and a small fall, but he recovered to finish the stage in 20^th place and is now 17^th overall.

Noah overcomes brake issue

It was a difficult day for Harith Noah as the TVS-backed rider lost his bike’s rear brake around 30km into the stage. He, too, ran into some navigation problems, but managed to complete the stage safe and sound in 44^th place.

As a result, he’s lost some ground in the overall standings, but still holds the 27^th place.

Cornejo, De Villiers win Stage 9

Honda rider Jose Ignacio Cornejo secured his second stage victory this year after beating out KTM’s Kevin Benavides. Overnight leader Sam Sunderland (GasGas) had a difficult time as he had to open the stage and KTM’s Matthias Walkner took full advantage of that to once again move into the lead. The 2018 Dakar Rally winner now has a lead of just over 2 minutes over Sunderland.

Toyota secured the top three positions in the cars category, with Giniel de Villiers winning ahead of Hank Lategan and Nasser Al-Attiyah. Overall leader Al-Attiyah was handed a five-second penalty for a safety belt infringement in Stage 8. While this does slash down his lead, he still holds a 34 minutes 05 seconds advantage over Bahrain Raid Xtreme’s Sebastian Loeb.