Another year, another Dakar rally done. While the dust settles (and the landslides stop sliding and the torrential rainwater subsides), we look back at how it has been different.
1. Sunderland wins. Sam Sunderland has been around for a while, but this is the first time that he's won the rally. You can claim that luck went his way, with the exit of Toby Price, and the cancellation of a stage and the shortening of another, but hey - that same luck applied to everyone else, too. Also, when people like Marc Coma say that it has been one of the toughest Dakar rallys in memory, well, Sunderland is due all the respect coming his way.
2. The Indian-backed teams did well. TVS Sherco riders finished in 13th (Joan Pedrero) and 22nd (Adrien Metge) overall. Aravind KP was doing well, until someone slowed down where they shouldn't have and made him crash and break his wrist. We're sure he'll be back next year with more determination (and hopefully that solution of all things automotive in India, a loud horn). CS Santosh, the other Indian rider in the mix, was riding for the Hero Speedbrain team and rode a conservative race to finish 47th overall. His teammate Joaquim Rodrigues finished a commendable 10th place overall - for a first-time effort, that is really very good.
3. Nobody died. No one likes to talk about this, but the 2017 Dakar rally has been fatality-free, and that's a rarity.
4. The weather is the real winner of the 2017 Dakar. Even the toughest race in the world had to back off when mother nature decided to get in on the action. Torrential rain and landslides shortened one stage and cancelled a second, giving the participants two continuous days off.
5. The rise of the non-KTM teams. Yes, it was another KTM blowout with the top three being KTMs, but they weren't the expected names. In fourth place was Yamaha rider Adrian van Beveran, 58 seconds behind third-placed Gerard Farres. He received a one-minute penalty during the race. The Hondas of Joan Barreda and Pablo Goncalves finished fifth (43 minutes behind) and sixth (52 minutes behind), and they were both hit with a one-hour penalty for a refueling glitch. Husqvarna's Pablo Quintanilla also needs to be mentioned here because he withdrew when he was placed second overall.
The 2017 Dakar rally has been quite exciting - it has the first Brit to win the Dakar in any class, and any one of four different teams looked capable of taking home the W. Next year should see them all more prepared - we can't wait.
