Leading competitors into stage two of the 2019 Merzouga Rally following his winning performance on day one of the Dakar Series event in Morocco, Yamalube Yamaha Rally Team rider Adrien Van Beveren has kept his WR450F Rally machine at the head of the event’s overall motorcycle class standings.
Faced with the difficult task of opening the 212.22-kilometre stage, Van Beveren remained focused on his road book and the job in hand to finish the day third fastest. Losing a little time early in the stage, where he was caught by the riders behind him, he remained at the head of the field and successfully navigated the remainder of the stage alone.
Placing just over one-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner Michael Metge, Van Beveren maintains a near five-minute advantage at the top of the overall motorcycle class results.
Stage three of the Merzouga Rally will take competitors from Erfoud to the marathon bivouac, where they will camp under the stars and receive no assistance from their teams.
Adrien Van Beveren : « I am very happy about how things went today. The navigation was very tricky with a few areas where we almost needed to fill in some of the information ourselves. There was a very tricky note on the road book early in the stage, where I got a little bit lost. The riders behind caught me there, just at the moment that I found the correct direction. But after that I rode alone at the front, opening the stage. I feel like today’s performance was better than yesterdays, even though I didn’t win. To open a long stage like this and to stay at the front is something I am very, very happy about. There’s another long stage tomorrow, followed by the overnight marathon bivouac, so more challenging days ahead. »
Stage 2 Provisional Classification
1. Michael Metge (FRA), Sherco, 3:42:09
2. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, +1:16
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, +1:34
4. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, +1:37
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK), KTM, +2:25
6. Alessandro Botturi (ITA), Yamaha, +6:27…
Provisional Overall Classification [After Stage 2]
1. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 7:35:18
2. Stefan Svitko (SVK), KTM, +4:58
3. Michael Metge (FRA), Sherco, +7:41
4. Joaquim Rodrigues (PRT), Hero, +13:37
5. Jacopo Cerutti (ITA), Husqvarna, +21:26
6. Oriol Mena (ESP), Hero, +22:08…