Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
Thursday 7 April 2016
Fifth and last Special: 234.01 km
This morning, Pela Renet (Husqvarna) was opening the trail for the first time in his young Cross Country Rallies career ahead of junior Jose Cornejo (KTM) and Mohamed Al Balooshi (KTM). The trio was very quickly caught up by Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna), who left in 4th, and then by Sunderland (KTM) and Price (KTM) who were riding for victory.
“I rode as hard as I could up to the refuelling stop”, explains the man from Chile who finished 3rd in the last Special and slipped into 3rd overall. Sam (Sunderland) and Toby (Price) caught me up and we rode together but at one point, I lost some time. Still, I am happy with my result and my performance. It’s a good start to the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship season. My rivals are really good and fast and it will be a close-fought thing all through the summer!”
Toby Price (KTM) started out in 6th position but he made up the 2'45 that lay between him and the victor’s laurels, relegating Sam Sunderland to 2nd place and Pablo Quintanilla to 3rd. “Today, it was hot in all senses of the word”, says the Australian. “I attacked really hard from the start and most of the time I rode with Sam, which was not my plan at the start. But when I caught him up, he stayed glued to my wheel! I tried to shake him off but there was nothing doing. Anyway, I still managed to win the race and I’m really thrilled with this new success!”
Sam Sunderland (KTM) is a bit disappointed with his second place. “I got a bit stuck in the sand at the start, then Toby caught me up after a few kilometres. After that we rode together but we didn’t manage to shake off Quintanilla.”
In the overall rankings, behind Price, Sunderland and Quintanilla, Mohamed Al Balooshi took fourth place after a great race, just ahead of Pela Renet. “It wasn’t easy to open the trail this morning”, says the Frenchman with a smile, and Pablo caught me up. It was good to be able to follow him and I tried to get back in front a couple of times. I am happy to have finished a rally! That was my challenge.”
Behind Pela Renet, Jose Cornejo finished in 6th place, winner of the junior category ahead of Kuba Piatek, 7th. “I could have ridden with the leaders when they passed me”, says the young Chilean, but it would have been too risky and I preferred to go at my own pace. It was a good start to the season and I intend to win the FIM Cross Country Rallies Junior title!”
Laia Sanz stopped to help Arana who had a bad crash and injured his back.
In quad, the overall win goes to Rafal Sonik ahead of Camelia Liparoti, Koolen and Casale, who missed a day with a broken engine. “I always dreamed of winning in the desert, as it’s the quintessential Cross Country Rallies terrain, and I have only won the Desert Challenge once in 8 years. So I am happy with this performance. I won without taking any risks and it’s a good start to the season before Qatar and the other rallies! I am going to be a father for the first time in my life this year, but that won’t stop me doing the FIM Cross Country Rallies Championship season!”
Judith Tomaselli