King quintanilla

Tuesday, 23 August 2016
1st Stage: Antofagasta – Antofagasta 

Link section: 78.58 km – Special: 231 km – Link section: 237.78 km – Total: 547.36 km.

The mercury was showing 27°C when the riders reached the bivouac in the afternoon, but at 7h in the morning, when they set out from the hotel, the air was glacial. In Chile, situated in the southern hemisphere, it is still winter… Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the geographical location of the Atacama Desert, stuck between the Pacific Ocean and the Cordillera of the Andes, is the characteristic morning mist. Because of this, the helicopter had to wait and the race was delayed for an hour.  

After the riders chose their starting positions yesterday after the prologue, the strategy adopted by local rider, Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) paid off, as he won this first stage with a lead of 1'13 over Toby Price (KTM) and 2'50 over Paulo Gonçalves (Honda). “There was a lot of dust”, said Quintanilla, “with dirt tracks, bichufita (a mixture of earth and salt), dry river beds and lots of stones. I felt at home and it was a good day”. Like Matthias Walkner (KTM), who lost a lot of time stuck behind a truck for 15 minutes, Toby Price too was somewhat blocked in the dust. “That’s life. I lost a bit of time but that’s racing”, said the Australian, who is delighted to be back in the Chilean desert. The third member of the top trio, Paulo Gonçalves (Honda), had a problem with his GPS. “It wasn’t easy to manage the DZs (speed limits)”, he explained, “and I didn’t want to get any penalties. Then, I got passed by Quintanilla. » 

The winner of the prologue, Kevin Benavides, opened the trail for 30 km but made a mistake at the entrance of a rio and climbed two mountains before getting back on track and finishing 4th… “I’m getting the hang of this” says the friendly Argentine with a smile. 

In 5th position, we find Brabec (Honda) followed by Walkner (KTM), Caimi (Honda), Renet (Husqvarna), Sunderland (KTM) and Cornejo (KTM). This first stage was an off day for Laia Sanz, who finished 15th. Rafal Sonik, on his quad, was 18th. 

Tomorrow, the Atacama rally heads south in the direction of Bahia Inglesa.