Double MotoGP race winner Danilo Petr✤ucci's dream of a top finish on his Dakar debut ended with a technical i✱ssue on Monday's second stage.

It was an especially disꦑappointing blow for the Italian given he had been setting a very competitive pace up until that point, which followed a solid 13th on Sunday's first proper stage (1B) after the short (1A) Prologue on January 1.

“It was exciting until the technical issue because I was fighting for the top five - I 🐎think I was in third position at that moment - and I was having a lot of fun because the route was very fast!" Pet꧃rucci posted on social media after the Stage 2 eletricial issue on his 450cc KTM.

"I had caught two o🍰f the riders in front of me, pushing for 20-30 km on full throttle and it was very cool to go up to 150km/h on flat ground.

"I will try to restart tomorrow [ꦛTuesday] even if I know I will not be c🌱ompeting for the final standings.”

The good news is that Petrucci, competing under the same Tech3 KTM Factory Racing banner 🃏with which he spent the 2021 MotoGP campaign, has been confirmed as eligible to re-join today's action and will now aim to build up valuable Dakar experience and gauge his speed for the future.

"After the p🐽roblem yesterday, I am able to rejoin the race," Petrucci said. "Really, really happy because it's just the beginning. Today is another day. I want to enjoy more than yesterday."