– Joaquim Rodrigues and Ross Branch in top 10
Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, completed the first stage of the Andalucia Rally with three of its riders in the top 10.
A 65 kms road liaison section brought the riders to the province of Sevilla, where the 319 kms special stage was held. The special had many tricky navigation sections that caused riders to lose the way.
Joaquim Rodrigues chose to ride cautiously and he was rewarded with a 7th place finish.
After losing some time with tricky navigation at the start, Ross Branch picked up the pace in the middle of the stage and even lead the stage around the half-way mark. An error towards the end pushed him down to 8th place in the stage.
Franco Caimi had to start from the back due to his crash in the Qualifying stage, yet he powered through overtaking multiple riders, to finish in 9th position. Starting the stage in 5th place, Buhler found the tricky navigation challenging and finished in the 13th place.
In the Overall RallyGP standings, Joaquim and Ross are in 7th and 8th positions respectively, while Buhler and Caimi in 12th and 13th place respectively.
Leg 2 of this stage will add another 335 kms of special section to the itinerary, making it the longest stage of the Andalucia Rally 2022. The stage will see the riders taking on the trails winding through the hills of the province of Malaga. Leg 2 also sees some of the longest road liaison sections, with the riders covering over 650 kms before returning to Dos Hermanas in the evening.
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « It was a challenging day, so I decided to play it safe and ride at a controlled pace, to bring the bike to the finish line. Still, I finished the stage with a good time, and now I am looking forward to the next stage. »
Franco Caimi, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « It was a challenging stage, so I am happy to have completed it. I was starting towards the back, so had to overtake a lot of riders. I rode the entire stage in the dust. Yet, overall I am happy with the result and looking forward to tomorrow. »
Ross Branch, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « It was a mixed day for me. The navigation after the start was tricky and I lost some time there. I was able to keep a good pace through most of the stage, but I made a navigational error towards the end and that cost me some time. Tomorrow is another day and looking forward to getting back on the bike. »
Sebastian Buhler, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: « Today was not a great stage for me. I lost some time at the start and again towards the end with some navigation errors. But the bike is working well and I am feeling good, so looking forward to the remaining stages. »
Stage 1B Rankings [RallyGP class]:
1. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team, 03h 39m 25s
2. Sam Sunderland, GasGas Factory Racing, + 03m 14s
3. Luciano Benavides, Husqvarna Factory Racing, + 03m 29s…
7. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 09m 00s
8. Ross Branch, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 11m 06s
9. Franco Caimi, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 11m 58s…
13. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 18m 51s…
Overall Rankings [RallyGP class]:
1. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team, 04h 45m 33s
2. Sam Sunderland, GasGas Factory Racing, + 02m 34s
3. Luciano Benavides, Husqvarna Factory Racing, + 03m 53s…
7. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 09m 08s
8. Ross Branch, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 11m 46s…
12. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 20m 49s
13. Franco Caimi, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 33m 18s…