Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, kicked off their Andalucia Rally campaign with the Qualifying Stage on 19th October. After successfully completing the administrative and technical checks over the last day and a half, the 4-rider team of Joaquim Rodrigues, Franco Caimi, Ross Branch and Sebastian Buhler took to the start line in the afternoon.
The short 9.6km stage, set around the Grand Dos Hermanas Racecourse, was of strategic importance as the top 15 overall finishers in the bikes will get to pick their start position for the much longer 320km stage set for the 20th of October.
The stage was short, fast and slippery, making it tricky for the riders. Joaquim Rodrigues and Ross Branch completed the stage in the Top 10 in 5th and 8th positions respectively. Sebastian Buhler finished in 11th place, but Franco had a crash on the stage, relegating him to 14th in the RallyGP classification.
The 2022 edition of the Andalucia Rally is the final round of the newly formed World Rally Raid Championship. The remaining days of the rally will see the riders cover a total of 4 stages, to cover 1965kms during the course of the rally, with 1053kms of competitive sections. The first full stage of the rally on the 20th of October will consist of 146kms of liason sections in addition to the 319km race distance as the riders take a loop of Sevilla before returning to Dos Hermanas in the evening.
Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « We are happy to be back in Spain for the Andalucia Rally. This is the last race of the World Rally Raid Championship and the last race before the Dakar Rally. The Andalucia Rally is unique in the championship as it does not take part in the desert, instead in the hills and countryside in the south of Spain. It is good to have all 4 of our riders back on the start line, especially JRod, who has recovered from his crash in Morocco. It was a little unfortunate for Franco, who had a crash in the Qualifying stage, but he is ok and the bike is fine, so we are all set for Stage 1 of the Rally. »
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « The qualifying stage was fast and slippery. It was tricky, but I managed to register a good time. It is a long race and I am looking forward to day 1. »
Franco Caimi, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « It was not a great start for me today, with a crash on the stage. Fortunately, I am not hurt, so I am preparing for the stage tomorrow and for the rest of the rally. »
Ross Branch, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « I really wanted to win the stage and I gave it everything, and I am happy with the result. It was great to ride here with the spectators cheering us on. I am looking forward to the rest of the race. »
Sebastian Buhler, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « I felt good on the qualifying stage, The terrain here is quite different from Morocco, but this is the terrain that I am used to, so I am looking forward for the remaining stages of the Rally. »
Qualifying Stage Rankings (RallyGP class)
1. Sam Sunderland, GasGas Factory Racing, 01h 05m 28s
2. Kevin Benavides, Red Bull KTM Factory, + 00m 24s
3. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team, + 00m 40s…
5. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 00m 48s…
8. Ross Branch, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 01m 20s…
11. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 02m 08s…
14. Franco Caimi, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 22m 00s…
A multiplication factor of 8 is applied to the Qualifying stage times