The first of the five stages that make up the Afriquia Merzouga Rally kicked off today with an 8 km liaison followed by a 208 km special divided into two parts (86 km and 115 km).
It was a tough stage with tricky navigation and dangerous zones comprising of mixed terrains, fast piste mixed with stony off-piste. Both JRod and Oriol managed to tackle the stage well barring a couple of navigation errors which made them loose some time.
Overall, it was a good start for the Hero MotoSports Team Rally with JRod bringing in a solid stage with a 4th place finish and Oriol Mena, not too far behind, finishing the day in 7th place.
The stage featured two major difficulties: a big dune sector around Merzouga and another sector with smaller dunes but just as tricky. The first section focused on the navigation with the crossing of small dunes followed by the entry into the Erg Chebbi region. The second selective sector was more rigorous with rough terrain where navigation skills of the riders were put to test.
Stage 2 will take the competitors to another run of 240 kms in the dunes of Erfoud.
Oriol Mena, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, « The first stage of the rally was good for me. I felt good and the bike also did well. The navigation today was difficult and I made a couple of errors, but the rally is just starting, so I am happy to get the bike home. »
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said, « It was a tough stage to start with a few dangerous zones and a lot of navigation. I did well in the first part but lost some time in finding a waypoint and then some more time towards the stage end as well. Overall it was a good day with no big mistakes and no crashes. Happy to arrive at the finish line safely and we’ll see how it goes from here. »
Provisional Rankings of the Stage 1
1. Adrian Van Beveren, Yamaha Racing, 03h 29m 10s
2. Stefan Svitko, Slovnaft Rally Team, +05m 12s
3. Michael Metge, Sherco TVS Racing, +08m 13s
4. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports, +13m 24s
7. Oriol Mena, Hero MotoSports, +22m 32s…
Provisional Overall Rankings after the Stage 1
1. Adrian Van Beveren, Yamaha Racing, 03h 52m 40s
2. Stefan Svitko, Slovnaft Rally Team, +05m 02s
3. Michael Metge, Sherco TVS Racing, +07m 23s
4. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports, +13m 24s
7. Oriol Mena, Hero MotoSports, +23m 12s…
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