Dakar Rally: Han Wei on track to break own Chinese record as he edges into ninth place

Han Wei and co-driver Li Ma closed out stage six of the 2022 Dakar Rally in ninth position, edging closer towards China’s best result ever in the event.

A veteran driver, Han made history for China two years ago by producing the country’s best result, finishing in tenth place. This year he teamed up with co-driver Li and the duo have been steadily improving over the course of the week.

After a fierce battle for a top 15 spot earlier this week, the pair stormed through stage six and are now hot on the heels of Czech driver Martin Prokop. Argentinian driver Orlando Terranova has stormed ahead to lead the cars and looked likely to remain in front as stage seven got under way on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Chinese rookies Po Tian and Xuanyi Du are proving their worth in their first Dakar Rally. The pair joined forces with the Hanwei Motorsport team after being inspired by team owner Wei’s record finish.

The 53-year-old Po had no particular goals for his debut; he simply wanted to enjoy the ride and make it successfully to the finish line in Jeddah. He was joined in his buggy by 23-year-old Xuanyi, who also hails from Inner Mongolia and like Po was making his Dakar debut.