Sebastian Buhler and Joaquim Rodrigues secure first and second positions
Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has kick-started their second campaign of this season at the BAJA Portalegre today.
The Hero MotoSports Team Rally is represented at the Rally by the local boys – Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Buhler.
The Two-Day Rally will cover nearly 550 kms including 420 kms of special stages and will provide the Team and Riders with the last opportunity to complete testing and final configurations of their bikes for the upcoming Dakar Rally 2021.
The BAJA Portalegre is a part of the 2020 FIM BAJA World Cup and with the rest of the upcoming BAJA events cancelled, it now becomes the decisive race for crowning the winner of the 2020 FIM BAJA World Cup. Hero MotoSports’ Sebastian Buhler is one of the top contenders to win the coveted title having already won the BAJA Do Pinhal earlier in the season.
With all the administrative and technical checks completed yesterday, the Team took to the starting line for the short 3.4 km Prologue Stage (Super Special 1) to decide the starting order for the slightly longer 75 km Super Special 2 (SS2) of the Rally, which was also concluded today. Having secured the 3rd and 6th places respectively in the Prologue, Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Buhler continued to rake up good pace in the SS2 as well.
Dominating the super special completely, Sebastian won the SS2 followed closely by his team mate Joaquim in the 2nd place.
At the end of the Stage 1 today, Sebastian is perched right at the top of the overall rankings on 1st place followed by Joaquim in the 2nd place.
The third and the last stage of the Rally tomorrow will test the endurance and skills of the competitors over a 330 km long stage, at the end of which, the winner of the 2020 FIM BAJA Word Cup will be crowned.
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « There was a lot of rain today and it was quite cold. It was a tricky stage. But it was fun and I am happy to get the bike to the finish line. »
Sebastian Buhler, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « It was a fast stage with a lot of water due to the rain here in Portalegre. But it was a good stage for me as I managed to finish on top. The bike was perfect and I hope tomorrow as well I can get a good result for the team. »
Super Special 1 (Prologue) Rankings
1. Bruno Santos, Team Can-Am Off Road, 2m 44s
2. Andre Sergio, Yamaha 450, +0.3s
3. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +4.7s
4. Antonio Maio, Yamah Wr Rally, +4.9s
6. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +6.3s
Provisional Super Special 2 Rankings
1. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, 54m 36s
2. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +55s
3. Bruno Santos, Team Can-Am Off Road, +2m 23s
4. Salvador Vargas, JB Racing, +4m 29s
5. David Megre, Vitoria Fc, +5m 36s