QUADS: LATINOS GEARING UP FOR THE RACE

December 14 ^th 2021 - 20:13 [GMT + 3]

21 quad riders will be on the start line of the 2022 Dakar in Jeddah, set for a 12-stage showdown in which the South Americans remain the favourites to win the title, starting with the Argentinian reigning champion, Manuel Andújar.
The Latinos will face the competition of Eastern European riders such as Pole Kamil Wiśniewski, fourth in 2021, as well as the French clan, in which Alexandre Giroud has the best shot at a podium finish.

Calling the quad category an all-Latino affair is only a slight exaggeration. From their humble beginnings with a small contingent at the dawn of the South American era of the Dakar, their ranks swelled in line with the extensive and intensive practice of quad racing in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru, all the way up to a record-breaking 49 quads at the start of the 2018 edition. The evolution of the Dakar caravan has done little to loosen their iron grip on the category, as Ignacio Casale in 2020 and Manuel Andújar in 2021 extended their hegemony in the two previous editions held in Saudi Arabia. While the Chilean has since switched to a truck in search of new challenges, the Argentinian title holder is in prime position to retain his title after making a clean sweep of this year's events, including the recent Rallye du Maroc. Last January, he was escorted on the podium by another Chilean, Giovanni Enrico, and a fellow Argentinian, Pablo Copetti, now racing as an American. It comes as no surprise that these two are also heading to Jeddah with lofty ambitions.
 
However, riders from Eastern Europe have been able to buck the trend on a couple of occasions since the official inception of the quad category 12 years ago and remain a force to be reckoned with in the fight for the title. Chief among them, Pole Kamil Wiśniewski continued his rise to finish fourth last January. Czech Tomáš Kubiena, who was right behind him in last year's general standings, is also a credible podium threat, while Lithuanian Laisvydas Kancius, seventh in his debut in 2021, showed further flashes of talent with a fourth-place finish in last spring's Andalucía Rally. In the fight for glory, the French posse will be spearheaded by Alexandre Giroud, who will be looking to bounce back after two DNFs in a row, the latter after four stage wins in 2021, and Sébastien Souday, who is making his comeback after finishing sixth in 2020. The game is on.