A Difficult Day For Most Of The Riders
Sonora RallyToday the forth and penultimate stage of the Sonora Rally was a rollercoaster of emotions for most of the riders.
Due to a mistake in the road book at Km 76,84 where it was indicated CAP 298 instead of CAP 233, several FIM competitors missed the route – among them were Monster Energy Honda Team riders Adrien Van Beveren, Pablo Quintanilla and José Igacio Cornejo. All competitors affected by this situation were able to rejoin the rally route at Km 93,39. FIM officials analyzed the issue and presented a solution intended to minimize its impact. In consequence, the Race Director decided to disregard the SS time between WP26 (Km 76,84) and WP30 (Km 93,39). The Bonus corresponding to the WP of 91,36 Km was also not considered.
Ricky Brabec was once again the fastest rider from the Monster Energy Honda Team, finishing the stage in 6th position (3:34 gap) – meaning he was able to climb some position in the overall standings (to 9th place). Adrien Van Beveren was 8th today and sits in 6th overall. José Ignacio Cornejo closed the Top 10 and kept the 13th position overall. Finally, Pablo Quintanilla was the 14th fastest rider today and got 8th in the overall standings.
With only one more day to go at the Sonora Rally, the race has tomorrow a shorter stage between Puerto Peñasco and San Luis with a 139 km of special stage and a liaison of 259 km. Gravel and sand tracks with a lot of dust will continue to demand full concentration and great technical driving skills.
”Today the stage was quite similar to the others, with little navigation and some dangerous points. Then there was that problem in the road book at Km 76,84 that affected some of our riders. That was solved by the organization that decided well to neutralize that part, but anyway riders got a little bit stressed and lost their concentration. That's what it is, this is also part of racing. Tomorrow we have the last stage - a short stage where the margin for changes is small. Anyway the race is just over when we reach the finish line, so let’s continue to do our best to reach San Luis Colorado in the best possible position”.
”Stage 4 was definitely a struggle journey for me, I didn't really feel comfortable today, didn't feel confident. I couldn't really find the flow, it was really fast so I was happy to be at the finish. Now there is just one more stage to do and that’s not much we can do. We are here basically training and riding. Now we will have some rest and will push for the final day tomorrow.”
”This was a difficult day because we arrived at Km 76 and the road book was confusing. I decided to stay calm and in these moments this can make all the difference. I kept going but could not find the pist, so I came back and I met other riders that were also lost. I came back to the point where I knew it was right and then Pablo and Nacho arrived. We kept looking, but the CAP was not correct. Excluding this issue, the day was not bad."
”We are done with stage 4, I am sure I had better days before. Everything was going good until Km 76 and then things got confused. I followed the CAP but that didn't send me the right way and I had to ride about 20 km. Except for this mistake in the road book I had a good day and overall I felt good with the bike. The stage was really fun to ride. Tomorrow is the last day and we will try to finish in a solid way”.
”This was a difficult day for me but I am happy to finish. Today it was a big casino with the wrong road book. After that I honestly tried to keep on the bike without crashing because it was a little bit dangerous today. It was a little bit frustrating but that is also part of racing and rally.”
Provisional Standings on Stage 4 Sonora Rally
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Num |
Nation |
Team |
Constructor |
Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
PRICE Toby |
18 |
AUS |
Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team |
KTM |
02:33:21 |
|
2 |
SCHAREINA Tosha |
68 |
SPA |
Honda Team |
Honda |
02:33:44 |
|
3 |
BENAVIDES Luciano |
77 |
ARG |
Husqvarna Factory Racing |
Husqvarna |
02:34:13 |
|
4 |
SANDERS Daniel |
4 |
AUS |
Gas Gas Factory Team |
Gas Gas |
02:35:01 |
|
5 |
WALKNER Matthias |
52 |
AUT |
Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team |
KTM |
02:36:20 |
|
6 |
BRABEC Ricky |
2 |
USA |
Monster Energy Honda Team |
Honda |
02:36:55 |
|
7 |
EVAN BRANCH Ross |
16 |
BWA |
Hero Motorsports Team Rally |
Hero |
02:37:59 |
|
8 |
VAN BEVEREN Adrien |
42 |
FRA |
Monster Energy Honda Team |
Honda |
02:38:13 |
|
10 |
CORNEJO José Ignacio |
11 |
CHI |
Monster Energy Honda Team |
Honda |
02:41:09 |
|
14 |
QUINTANILLA Pablo |
7 |
CHI |
Monster Energy Honda Team |
Honda |
02:43:23 |