Sardegna Rally Race
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
Fifth Stage: Abatrax - Abatrax
Link section: 23 km – SS1: 66 km – Transfer: 9 km – SS2: 76 km – Link section: 41 km – Total: 215 km.
From day three, the friendly Sherco rider was on the wheels of Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) every day, waiting for him to go wrong and giving it everything he had. Yesterday, after the Frenchman took a three-minute penalty, Joan Pedrero (Sherco) saw his chance but he still had to complete the two last specials of this fifth stage of the Sardegna Rally Race to take home the victory. The pressure of a final day of racing, when you are in the lead and you have to go out ahead and negotiate really tricky terrain and complex navigation, is certainly not to be underestimated, but Pedrero handled it like a true Champion.
“The second day of the race, my road book got torn, but then I won and opened the trail over more than 300 km! Yesterday, with all the fuss around the penalties for Xavier and Kevin (Benavides), it was hard for me to settle down. So I went to bed and treated this day like a training session at home with friends waiting at the finish. I focused entirely on the road book, putting my ranking, the chance of winning and my rivals out of my mind, and I rode flat out. Around km12, I made a mistake. I stopped, took a deep breath and focused again. It worked and I set off again at a cracking pace, while trying to ride in the grass to hide my tracks! This is my first win in the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, and it’s a good win!”
For Xavier de Soultrait, the runner’s up spot is rather a bitter pill to swallow but the young Frenchman can be proud of his race, as he was alone without a mechanic and gave his all up to the last metre. “In this morning’s special, I made up some ground”, says the Yamaha rider, “but in the second one, I made a mistake and got lost on a fairly simple note. I was riding hard and I went past the trail without seeing it. And I am runner up by 43.70 seconds! But I am happy with my race. I rode well and made a lot of progress!”
Armand Monleon (Husqvarna) confirmed his third place, 2'17.33 behind the winner. “The pace was very fast this year. The gaps between the riders at the front were very tight and there was less navigation than last year. It’s always a tough race but I had a good feeling”. Today, Alessandro Botturi (Yamaha) let it rip on terrain he knows well and finished in 4th ahead of Olivier Pain (Beta), who is pretty happy: “In the first special, I rode well but in the second I had to turn back a couple of times and I had a minor crash that cost me some seconds, and the times were very tight. But I am really happy with my race. I had fun with the Beta and managed to stay in the right group, not far from the podium.”
Benavides (Honda) finished in 5th followed by Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha), who is still learning the ropes and managing to recover faster when he goes wrong. He won the Junior category ahead of José Cornejo, who is still in the top spot for the Championship. Cominotto (Husqvarna) came 8th in the Rally overall. ahead of Rodrigues (Yamaha), tired after riding two Rallies back to back, and Mancini (Beta).
In quad, Sébastien Souday finally won the Rally ahead of Rafal Sonik, whose only concern was to score points in the FIM World Championship, and Axel Dutrie.
Judith Tomaselli