Prologue Win For Van Beveren
It was a great start for the Monster Energy Honda Team! Adrien Van Beveren dominated the prologue (6:48 minutes) and confirmed his great momentum, while Dakar winner Ricky Brabec was third just two seconds away.
Pablo Quintanilla made the 7th best score of the day (6:53minutes) and his companion from Chile José Ignacio Cornejo finished in the 13th position (7:16 minutes).
Desafio Ruta 40 YPF, the fourth and penultimate stop of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) is finally on the road! This epic comeback to Argentina, a playground very well known by all off-road lovers after one decade of Dakar Rally in the country, is for now focused on La Rioja. This Sunday was time to decide the standings for Stage 1 during a prologue with around nine kilometers long (added by a road connection of 29 km).
The prologue track was situated around Los Sauces Dam, very close to the city center of La Rioja. Quite spectacular and sinuous, this warm-up was the first chance for the local fans to meet the best rally-raid specialists in full action.
Tomorrow the race will remain in the province of La Rioja, with a long day for the riders. The first stage will complete a circuit of nearly 700 km with start and arrival in La Rioja: 362 km of liaison and 334 km of Special Stage. At this point, gravel will dominate the menu – with 85% of the track. This means that the sand specialists will have only 15% of their favorite ingredient.
PROVISIONAL STANDINGS PROLOGUE DESAFIO RUTA 40
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | VAN BEVEREN Adrien | 42 | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | 06:48 |
2 | BENAVIDES Luciano | 77 | ARG | Husqvarna Factory Racing | 06:49 |
3 | BRABEC Ricky | 2 | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | 06:50 |
4 | WALKNER Matthias | 52 | AUT | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 06:50 |
5 | SCHAREINA Tosha | 68 | SPA | Honda Team | 06:51 |
6 | PRICE Toby | 18 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 06:51 |
7 | QUINTANILLA Pablo | 7 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | 06:53 |
8 | EVAN BRANCH Ross | 16 | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | 06:56 |
9 | BÜHLER Sebastian | 110 | GER | Bühler Racing Team | 07:03 |
13 | CORNEJO José Ignacio | 11 | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | 07:16 |