Thursday 17 October
In the tracks of “The Mummy”!
4th stage: Zagora – Erfoud
Link-up 66 km – Special: 295 km
This morning, the Oilibya Rally in Morocco set off 1h30' behind schedule and the sun was already high in the sky when Joan Barreda (Honda) struck out in pursuit of the special that was to lead the Rally to Erfoud. After opening the track all day, the young Catalan made a navigation error that put him back in seventh place. The day’s hero was Paolo Goncalves (Honda) who won the special and moved up into the top spot overall. “It was a very long, tough stage today”, observed the rider from Portugal. “The navigation was complex but I am totally focused on the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship and there are still two crucial days to come.”
Marc Coma clocked up the second-best time: “We started with the mountain that I have already had to cross 30 times in three years!” exclaimed the KTM stalwart.
Helder Rodrigues, who now has a Honda that is on the pace, took third place ahead of Olivier Pain (Yamaha). The French rider took several days to find his cruising speed and is pretty happy with his special overall. Great Britain's Sam Sunderland took a fine fifth place: “I lost time because I missed a waypoint and had to turn back. After that, I went all out right to the finish…” Chaleco Lopez had a great time on this special despite the tough navigation, crossing the line in 6th place.
In Quad, Rafal Sonik finished top of the category despite the dust. “I was passed by a car 15 km from the finish and I had to stop because of all the dust! I had a great time in the technical part and tried to keep up with the motorcyclists, who were very fast”, he observed.
Communication AMADLOZI - amadlozi.blogspot.com -