Rest day is here for the 2022 Dakar Rally and we're reporting after the shortened Stage 6 that saw the motorcycle competitors hit extreme challenges on a brutally beat up course. If you remember, today's moto course was raced on yesterday by the horsepower-hungry cars, trucks, buggies and more. And while they laid down some pretty obvious tracks to navigate from, the roadbook didn't really represent the dangers out there  after the carnage. The result was some big crashes right away, one taking out Monster Energy Yamaha's Ross Branch from the race who was second off the line, only making it 3km into today's challenge (reports are he broke his leg). Today's first bike out, that of Danilo Petrucci, also crashed on the same obstacle, putting the MotoGP star down early, although he was able to continue on with the day, battered as he was.

That early carnage set off the chain of events that would eventually shorten the stage by 3/4 of the planned distance, with racers racing roughly 100km today. Therefore, racers looking to gain big time today were limited, and those at risk of losing a lot were presented a gift. 

In today's show we chat directly with GasGas' Daniel Sanders and rookie sensation Mason Klein as well as the man with the meal plan, Kendall Norman. 

Enjoy this unfiltered and raw look into the day leading into the rest day from the riders and teams' perspectives as we head into the second week of this brutal event.

Thanks for listening!

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Dakar Rally Daily is produced and edited by Jesse Ziegler, and hosted by Quinn Cody and Jesse Ziegler.