The Dakar ended for sainz with a complicated last stage opening the track, in which he left nine minutes with Lategan, and with a 12th place overall, more than three and a half hours behind Al Attiyah. But he can be satisfied with his performance and with the potential of the Audi for the future, and that is how he showed himself to the press when he reached the finish line. Both the brand with the four rings and him are already thinking about what they have to improve for the Dakar 2023.
—Happy with the reliability shown by the Audi?
—The first week we had some youth problems due to not having been able to compete with the car in a race before, but they were solved little by little and in this second week, the truth is that it was much better. Personally, I am happy with this second week.
“Where has the car gone best?”
—In dunes we have gone really well, but he has defended well in all circumstances and on all terrains. I think it is to be satisfied with this first appearance of the car.
—And all the Audis have won stages.
—Regardless of winning stages or not, the important thing is to see the pace of the car in general, and I think the pace we have had.
—Do you think they have scared their rivals with this second week?
—You never know, because Nasser (Al-Attiyah) It hasn’t gone at the pace it normally would have gone either, but there will be time to see it.
—What conclusions can you draw for 2023?
—It is very clear, a series of things must be improved and the team already knows it. They have already started to think about it and now to prepare as best as possible for next year’s Dakar.