Atacama Rally
Thursday 17 August
Fourth stage: Mejillones - Iquique
Link section: 151.67 km - Special: 375 km – Link section 20.66 km - Total: 547.33 km
This fourth and penultimate stage of the Atacama Rally, third round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, over a 375 km course, was the longest and toughest of the Rally but the finish, in the great descent of Los Verdes that drops over 800 m, is always really impressive.
Kevin Benavides (Honda) won the stage with a lead of almost 3’ over Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna), moving to the top of the provisional leader board just 2 seconds ahead of his rival. “It was very tough today”, said the young Honda rider, “over 370 km, 300 of them very hard and dangerous with lots of fesh fesh and very loose gravel trails. The last 70 kilometres we rode through the valleys of Iquique and there I had some fun. I also had some difficulties finding a waypoint and had to turn back to check it. Still, I am very happy with this day and this win but there is still one more day to go!”
Overall, Kevin Benavides (Honda) is just 2 seconds clear of Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) who will start behind him tomorrow. The final showdown will therefore be a cliff-hanger.
“This morning”, said Pablo Quintanilla, “the terrain was very fast but terribly loose. There were lots of big stones and it was really hard to ride at speed. After that, it was the navigation that got tricky. I made a mistake and lost a bit of time but I think everyone was in the same boat. We have one more long and exciting day ahead of us tomorrow and I shall do my best to win it!”
Matthias Walkner (KTM), in third, found the Special hard to navigate and the trail very stony. He was followed by Paulo Gonçalves (Honda), Sam Sunderland (KTM), who also got lost, and Jose Cornejo (KTM)! “It was tough today”, says the Atacama Rally Junior, “but after the customs (Iquique is a duty-free zone) the trail was faster. Then we came to the region where I train and it was easier for me. Tomorrow, there are 160 km left, on my home ground, so I am really happy about that.”
Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha), who is getting his hand in once more, finished the last 75 kilometres without a GPS as the holder broke, but came in 7th ahead of his team mate Xavier de Soultrait: “Yesterday, I was tired”, said Xavier, “and I didn’t feel like working on the map and studying my road book. So I made a mistake at CP 2 and I took a speeding penalty. I also realised that I don’t have enough experience with fesh fesh. I shall have to work on that. I wasn’t good today but I have no excuse.”
In quad, Chile’s Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) continued to dominate, winning the stage with a lead of 5’ over Rafal Sonik (Yamaha), who is not yet at 100 %, and 10’ over Kees Koolen (Yamaha).
Tomorrow, the last stage over 158 km will be a loop around Iquique and the riders will come down the Los Verdes dune for one last time.
Full results: www.acryr.com.ar/tiempos/2017/atacama/MENU.HTM
Provisional standings of Special 4, motorcylces
1. Kevin Benavides (Honda) in 3h52’56
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) at 2’48
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) at 3’13
4. Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) at 4’03
5. Sam Sunderland (KTM) at 4’39
Provisional overall standings, motorcycles
1. Kevin Benavides (Honda) in 11h18’05
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) at 0.2
3. Sam Sunderland (KTM) at 11’31
4. Paulo Gonçalves (Honda) at 11’34
5. Matthias Walkner (KTM) at 16’11
Provisional standings of Special 4, quads
1. Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) in 5h02’54
2. Rafal Sonik (Yamaha) at 5’58
3. Kees Koolen (Yamaha) at 10’20
Provisional overall standings, quads
1. Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) in 14h40’16
2. Kees Koolen (Yamaha) at 29’43
3. Alexis Hernandez (Yamaha) at 53’02
Judith Tomaselli