A leg in close 100 km/h

SEALINE CROSS COUNTRY RALLY 2015
Thursday 23 April 2015
Fourth leg: Sealine - Sealine
Link section: 0.94 km – Special: 406.78 km – Link section: 4.32 km – Total: 412.04 km

After winning yesterday’s Special, Paulo Goncalves (Honda) chose to set off in sixth position and Pablo Quintanilla (KTM), who came second, left the fifth spot for Marc Coma (KTM). This morning, Jeremias Israel, who hurt his arm a while ago, was in so much pain that he sat out the leg.  Matthias Walkner opened the track for 21 motorcycles and four quads, followed by Jordi Viladoms, Sam Sunderland, Pablo Quintanilla and Marc Coma.

But after 10 km, the Austrian hit a big stone. He was unhurt but the motorcycle was damaged and he returned to the bivouac to repair it before setting off again, losing 80 minutes in the process.  
Out in front, it was a high-speed chase. Joan Barreda (Honda), who left in seventh this morning, won the special in 4h04'15 with an average speed of 99,93 km/h. “Today, we applied a normal strategy and I caught up with all the riders at the front. Paulo and I caught up the group but there was nothing else to be done. Something will have to be changed in this race. The navigation is difficult but the result is always the same. It should be possible to attack and make a difference.“

His team mate Paulo Goncalves finished 2nd just 1'59 behind and Marc Coma (KTM), who still tops the leader board with a 7'52 lead over Barreda, who finished in 3rd, followed by Pablo Quintanilla (KTM), Sam Sunderland (KTM) and Jordi Viladoms (KTM).  “It’s never over till you take the flag”, said Coma. “You can’t let down your guard for a minute and it is very difficult to shake off the group when you also have to navigate, especially here where the navigation is tough. It’s always easier for those who are behind. That’s the way it is in this race.”

In quad, Rafal Sonik (Honda), who set out in front, was caught up by Mohamed Abu Issa (Honda) who was leading the race and the overall rankings when he hit a stone and broke a wheel.  The Qatari lost time and probably missed a waypoint on the way back to the bivouac.  Dogged by ill fortune from the start, Sanabria  returned with his quad to the Sealine bivouac by road.