SEALINE CROSS COUNTRY RALLY
Sunday 17 April 2016
Administrative and technical verifications: Losail Circuit (Doha)
No shortage of suspense for the second round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship!
After the technical and administrative verifications on the Losail circuit, 15 motorcycles and 2 quads will be at the start of this second episode of FIM Cross country Rallies World Championship, but after an exciting season opener, the big guns riding here in Qatar will undoubtedly be giving it their best shot.
Following his triumphs in the Dakar and again 10 days ago in Abu Dhabi, the ever-smiling Toby Price (KTM) has the calm assurance of a man who knows he is able to win. If anyone had harboured any residual doubts, his performance in the season opener will certainly have dispelled them. The guy from down under is a great rider who knows how to navigate and to withstand pressure. In other words, a real champion. “This is my first time in the Sealine Rally”, he says, “and I’m afraid the challenge here will be a bit different from the dunes of Abu Dhabi. There are more stony tracks here and I’m told that the navigation is tricky with lots of parallel trails… We’ll see how it goes. I can’t wait to get started”.
After his victory in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Toby Price has clocked up 30 points, ahead of his team mate Sam Sunderland (KTM) on 23 pts and Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) on 20 pts. Alongside the man from Chile, Pela Rennet continues to serve his apprenticeship in the discipline while, at KTM, Laia Sanz is giving the Top Ten guys a run for their money.
Among the factories, while team Honda — currently restructuring and moving its headquarters to Santa Perpetua de la Mogoda in Spain (20 km from Barcelona) — is sitting out this Rally, Yamaha is fielding two riders: Helder Rodrigues and Adrien Van Beveren.
The first privateer, Mohamed Al Balooshi, will be out to make his mark while, among the Juniors, Kuba Patiek, riding for Polish team Orlen, will be keen to get his revenge on young José Cornejo of Chile, known as « PPS», in the Junior category.
In quad, Rafal Sonik and his Honda will be chasing a fourth victory in Qatar in a two-man race against Ignacio Casale (Yamaha).
In place of a prologue to define the starting order of the first Special, there will be a line start for a 226 km selective sector. The competitors will set off from Al Zubara in northern Qatar at 09.00h and finish close to the Sealine Resort.
Judith Tomaselli