MOROCCO RALLY
Friday 9 October
5th stage: Agadir – Agadir (Agadir loop)
Link sections: 79 km – Special: 237 km – Total: 316 km
The last Special of the Oilibya Morocco Rally was not a walk in the park but a tough selective test over narrow trails through hills and other sandy features. The finish was close to the seaboard and it was Sam Sunderland (KTM) who took advantage of his rivals’ misfortunes to win race ahead of Matthias Walkner (KTM), who is the new FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion after just one year of in the discipline. “In Morocco, there are always lots of competitors”, said Sam, as it’s the last race before the Dakar. It wasn’t easy as everyone was there to see where they stood and I am all the happier to have won this stage. This morning I was a little nervous and stressed out, but I didn’t go wrong in the navigation and that’s important for me”.
For Matthias Walkner, who took part in his first cross country rally last year here in Morocco, to finish second and win the World Championship is a dream come true. “I believe I have improved a lot but still can’t believe I have won the title. It’s truly extraordinary. ”
Unfortunately, Pablo Quintanilla crashed heavily this morning, losing all hope of taking the title. Paulo Gonçalves, despite his misfortunes, saved the day for Honda, finishing third in the Rally, followed by Argentina’s Kevin Benavides, also on a Honda, and Ruben Faria (KTM): “At the start, at km 33, a group of us got lost and I came face to face with a danger 3 in the dust. I crashed, happily without doing any damage!” Olivier Pain came in 6th, less than 2' ahead of Pedrero (Sherco). Xavier de Soultrait (Yamaha) was 8th: “ I figured the result in Morocco would be the one in the Dakar…”, followed by Paolo Cecci, Honda’s new water carrier, and Cerruti.
In quad, Rafal Sonik came in 20th, winning the FIM Quad World Cup for the 4th time. The junior winner, Jakub Patiek, was 12th and Anastasiya Nifontova, the women’s champion, was 25th!
Bravo to everyone and see you next year!
Judith Tomaselli