At their meeting last night, the Jury imposed a minute’s penalty for speeding at PC3 on Matthias Walkner (KTM), overall leader after the second Special. As a result, the man from Austria lost the top spot to Paulo Gonçalves (Honda), slipping down into second place and 27.8 seconds adrift.
The biggest speeding penalty went to Mohammed Jaffar, with 44 minutes at PC3, a record he will not forget in a hurry, but the smiling Kuwaiti is still in 9th place overall.
The competitors left the bivouac at Qasr Al Sarab at 6h00 this morning accompanied by a lovely sunrise and a light breeze, bringing a welcome breath of cool air after the gruelling heat of yesterday and the day before.
After his stage win yesterday, Pela Renet (Husqvarna) left in first place, opening the trail, and was still in first place when he reached the refuelling stop, as Paulo Gonçalves, happily fully recovered after yesterday’s crash, had not yet managed to catch him up.
But after 288 km, it was Sam Sunderland (KTM) who won the stage, moving up to the top of the leader board to boot: “It was a good day for me”, he confides. “I set off behind, in sixth place, and caught up with everyone before the refuelling. At first, I couldn’t see a soul, and that made me nervous as I didn’t know whether I was making up time or not. When I saw them in front of me just before the refuelling, I knew it was OK. There was a bit of a breeze and nothing but dunes. I recognised some of the places we had already been and there were bits of plastic everywhere, but it doesn’t help much as each dune is different. I am pleased with my pace in this morning’s Special!”
In second and 6’ adrift of Sam, Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) enjoyed the Special. “It was great going and the temperature was 15°C cooler than yesterday. I tried to make up a bit of time but I’m glad that half the race is over…” Just behind the man from Chile, Matthias Walkner (KTM) said with a smile: “Every day we arrive in a bunch and it seems like every time it’s the one who won the first day that wins the rally. There are two stages to go but the pace is very fast out front and the level is very high. I am feeling more comfortable with every day that passes and I’m really having a great time!”
Paulo Gonçalves, who finished fourth, is happy with his Honda and with his day. “Today was a key stage”, he explains. “The guys who set out caught me up but tomorrow it’ll be my turn to make up some time. We’ll see what happens at the end of the Rally!”
Pierre Alexandre (Pela) Renet (Husqvarna), who opened the trail, finished in fifth place. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna), who is feeling stronger every day, took 6th ahead of Al Balooshi (KTM), Stephens and Kees Koolen on the first of the quads.
For Rafal Sonik, the going is proving tough this time and this morning it was his GPS antenna that caused a problem, but ERTF repaired it in double quick time at the PC at the start of the link section and he finished in 11th as second quad, followed by Peru’s Alexis Hernandez.
It was not a lucky day for Kevin Benavides (Honda). After a minor crash in the first part of the Special, he had to stop at PC3 with a gear box problem and wait for a lift in the organisers’ truck.
FIM Communications