Thursday 31 August
Fifth stage: Tafi del Valle - San Miguel de Tucuman
Link section: 79.84 km - Special: 180.70 km – Link section: 67.26 km - Total: 327.80 km
This Desafio Ruta 40, fourth round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, has been particularly tough physically and in terms of navigation. Two new champions have fulfilled their dream by winning their first FIM Rally: Kevin Benavides (Honda) and Kees Koolen (Barren Racer) in quads. But hats off to all the other riders who successfully crossed the finish line!
The last Special was shorter and easier than the previous ones, with 180 km of Enduro like mountain trails reaching an altitude of 3'500 m and flirting with dangerous precipices.
San Miguel de Tucuman in the North East of Argentina, capital of the eponymous region, welcomed the Rally after this last stage. In this town, on 9 July 1816, Argentina proclaimed its independence.
On arrival, in front of the City Hall, the riders left their motorcycles in the parc fermé where only one mechanic is allowed in to remove the safety kit, Iritrack and GPS. Kevin Benavides (Honda) came into town as the winner of the Rally and could celebrate his first win in the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship on his native soil. He is also the first Argentine to win the laurels in this discipline: “Today, I rode more gently! I relaxed and had fun on the mountain trails. It’s a first win for me and I shall never forget this moment!”
His team mate Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) came in second after taking the top of the leader board two days ago. "It was a very tough race”, he said at the finish. “I am happy with my performance as the standard of riding is very high. Since the start, I have been in contention for the first place and I even took the lead on the third day. Unfortunately, on day 4, I crashed, and as Kevin had set out way behind, he was able to catch up and take over the lead in the race.”
Yamaha takes a gratifying third place on the podium with Xavier de Soultrait: “I missed the podium in Chile because I made a big mistake, so I’m happy to make it this time. Today, I really enjoyed the Special, but I wasn’t able to ride as I wanted because I had a mechanical problem when I accelerated hard.”
For Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna), who came fourth, the main thing is to stay focused on the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship: “I knew it would be a tough race and it was. I got lost the first day, but that’s rally racing for you. My main aim is the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship title. There is one race to go and it’s never all over until the last chequered flag.”
In quads, Kees Koolen (Barren Racer) gained his first laurels in the FIM World Championship with a fine win here in Argentina. “It was a very tough race”, said the man from the Netherlands, “especially the third and fourth days. But despite a few small mistakes, I always found my way. Now, there is just Morocco. I don’t know why but I’m always a bit nervous about that one as the road book is difficult to read.”
Pablo Copetti (Yamaha) came second ahead of Rafal Sonik (Yamaha).
The last round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, the Oilibya Maroc, will be taking place in Morocco from 4 to 10 October.
Provisional results of the fifth Special, FIM Motorcycles
1.Michael Metge (Honda) in 4h46’12
2.Kevin Ben avides (Honda) at
3.Adrien Van Bevergern (Yamaha) at 3’18
4.Matthias Falkner (KTM)
5.Paulo Goncalves (Honda)
Provisional overall results, FIM Motorcycles
1. Kevin Benavides (Honda) in 19h13’24
2. Paulo Goncalves (Honda) at 12’52
3. Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) at 40’50
4. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) at 57’04
5. Matthias Walkner (KTM) at 2h31’59
Provisional overall results of the fifth Special, FIM Quads
1.Kees Koolen (Barren Racer) in 2h43’59
2.Alexis Hernandez (Yamaha) at 4’07
3.Pablo Copetti (Yamaha) at 4’51
4. Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) at 9’34
5.Rodolfo Guillioli (Yamaha) at 2h29’42
Provisional overall results, FIM Quads
1.Kees Koolen (Barren Racer) in 25h48’12
2.Pablo Copetti (Yamaha) at 10’19
3.Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) at 22’06
4.Rodolfo Guillioli (Yamaha) at 2h48’28
5.Alexis Hernandez (Yamaha) at 36h21’36
Judith Tomaselli